Super Bowl XLVIII in pictures

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MetLife Stadium, New Jersey
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Built at a cost of $1.6bn (nearly £1bn) the 82,500-capacity MetLife Stadium, just outside New York, plays host to its first Super Bowl

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The Denver Broncos, about to make their seventh Super Bowl appearance, are welcomed onto the field in a cacophony of noise by their appropriately named mascot, Thunder the horse

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At 7C (44F) it was nowhere near as cold as had been feared for the first Super Bowl to be staged outdoors in a cold-weather state. Not that these fans would have cared...

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Opera singer Renee Fleming sings a rousing rendition of the American national anthem

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On the very first play from scrimmage, the ball is somehow snapped back over the head of nonplussed Denver quarterback Peyton Manning. The Broncos recover the ball, but only in their own endzone at the cost of the two points awarded for a safety

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Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch, known as "Beast Mode", bulldozes his way into Denver's endzone for Super Bowl XLVIII's first touchdown

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Seattle linebacker Malcolm Smith (right) returns Denver quarterback Peyton Manning's second interception of the night 69 yards for a touchdown, extending their half-time lead to 22-0

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Grammy Award-winner Bruno Mars (far right) kicks off the Super Bowl half-time show and, rather aptly given a one-sided first half, goes on to perform Runaway Baby

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Continuing the theme, the Red Hot Chili Peppers perform Give It Away

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The game resumes just as dramatically, with Seattle's Percy Harvin returning the second-half kick-off 87 yards for a touchdown

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Seattle's Doug Baldwin breaks two tackles to score a touchdown against Denver and complete the scoring in Super Bowl XLVIII

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Watch out Pete Carroll! It's customary for the winning team to dunk their head coach in gallons of soft drink, and here Seattle's boss gets it

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It's a thoroughly miserable night for Denver quarterback Peyton Manning, who goes on to congratulate his opposite number Russell Wilson

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It's all over! Russell Wilson, at 25 the third-youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl, celebrates with the Vince Lombari Trophy