September 1, 2026 — 3:00pm
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When Grammy-winning global superstar Bad Bunny stepped onto the stage at this year’s Super Bowl LX Halftime Show, an extraordinary 128.2 million people in the United States were watching. Within a day, clips from the show had reached a global audience of 4.16 billion, across a raft of platforms.
Standing behind Bad Bunny, the stage name of Puerto Rican rapper, singer and songwriter Benito Ocasio, was Salvadoran-Australian production designer Julio Himede. And what may come as no surprise is that at that moment, when the curtain went up, he was scared.
Latin-Australian designer Julio Himede.Tristan Fewings / Getty Images
“I was scared that the ideas were [not going] to translate to our audience on television, and on their devices,” Himede says. “When you look at my work over the last 20, 25 years, it’s usually quite minimalist with one big statement. This was the opposite.”
“I really believed in it, but part of my brain kept thinking, ‘are they going to get it? Is it going to look like one big mess or are we really going to nail it?’ When you really do take a huge risk, there’s a certain part of you that has confidence, but there’s a certain part of you that’s also very, very scared.”
That risk seems to have paid off. Himede is one of many Australians nominated at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards taking place this weekend. What makes Himede’s nomination special is that he’s been nominated twice, in the same category – outstanding production design for a variety special – for both the Super Bowl Halftime Show, and for his work on this year’s Grammy Awards.
But a double nomination can be a double-edged sword. Himede is not sure if he’s halved his chances or doubled his luck. “I still can’t believe it, it’s sort of surreal when you put it in that perspective,” he told this masthead. “I’m very honoured, but it is surreal. It’s very special to be nominated twice.”
Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga perform at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, designed by Australian Julio Himede.AP
Himede was born in El Salvador and came to Australia with his family at the age of 12. He grew up on the Gold Coast, and later moved to Sydney to study at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), the school which has produced some of Australia’s most extraordinary talents, including production designer Catherine Martin, actress Cate Blanchett and director Baz Luhrmann.
“Coming to Sydney as an 18-year-old boy, who’d only ever seen maybe one musical, which was The Phantom of the Opera, getting into NIDA was like an injection of culture,” Himede says. “I had to learn and I had no option. It was like I was at the train station and the train came, and it just took me with it.
“I had a good life in Sydney, the beach was part of my everyday life in a way, especially on the weekend. I miss that now that I live in New York,” he adds. “I can’t just say, let’s drive to Bondi. I look at that Australian life and I can honestly say I still call Australia home, as cliché as it sounds.”
Graduating in 1999, Himede faced a difficult choice. A new Star Wars film – Attack of the Clones – was to be shot in Sydney, and he had interviewed for a position as an assistant designer. The other was a call from designer Brian Thompson, the supervising designer for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony. Himede was offered both jobs.
Bad Bunny entertained 4.157 billion viewers at the Super Bowl Halftime Show.AP
The Olympics were “global, [and would be] seen around the world, and I decided to go for the Olympic Games,” Himede says. “It was a great taste of live events for me. When going live on television, you only have one go at it, and you can’t get it wrong. So the education behind rehearsal and communication and preparation was extremely valuable to me.”
Relocating to New York, he founded Yellow Studio, a New-York based design company which has designed a raft of major events, from the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), to the BRIT Awards, the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, the 2024 BAFTAs and many, many Grammys. This year’s Emmy nomination for his work on the Grammys is Himede’s sixth.
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But few events match this year’s Super Bowl halftime show – a vibrant showcase of Caribbean music and Latin pride with guest appearances by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin – either for scale of staging, execution of concept or audience exposure.
For Himede, it “has been the biggest opportunity in my career, to reach a global audience with a strong message. And the message came from our protagonist, which was Benito Bad Bunny himself. He had a lot of ideas on portraying this very strong positive message about celebrating life and about authenticity. That was incredible.”
Himede’s work also includes designing concert tours for Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys and The Black-Eyed Peas. Himede also designed the staging for Kylie Minogue’s eight-song set at the Sydney World Pride opening concert in 2023, but has not designed a concert tour for her – yet.
“I certainly want to work with other interesting artists out there,” he says. “[Spanish singer-songwriter] Rosalía for example, [Colombian singer] J Balvin, are just a couple, but there’s so many more. There’s a lot out there that I have my eye on, but certainly, I’m open to working with Kylie. So, if you have any contacts, please.”
Kylie Minogue performed at the opening of Sydney WorldPride.Don Arnold / Getty Images
The more pressing question, after this weekend’s Creative Arts Emmys, where Himede is nominated alongside a raft of other Aussies, including animator Michael Cusack, commercial director Kim Gehrig, special effects supervisor Marc Varisco and casting director Jane Norris, is … just how do you top the Super Bowl?
Another perspective
“I ask myself that same question,” Himede says, laughing. “There are a lot of opportunities that have come up since the Super Bowl, I think it’s giving me a lot of interesting visibility. I want to keep doing big spectacles, but what’s really interesting is that other platforms have opened up, in the arts, and in other educational and creative institutions, such as museums and art galleries. That’s very unexpected, and I’m very excited about that. So, we’ll see. Ask me in a year from now.”
Which means – win or lose – it’s back to work in New York next Monday morning. Australian-made Tim Tams are now in US supermarkets, Himede notes, so at least he has those to console him. “You can buy them in America, down the road, at the deli from my house,” he says. “So, my partner and I often have one or two packets in the fridge because we like them cold.”
In shorter supply is the chicken salt, he adds. “Every time I go to Australia, or every time people come over, say, you want me to bring anything? I say, can you please get some chicken salt for me? And I put it on my chips, and I make chicken schnitzel and I put chicken salt in them. That, I can’t live without.”
The 78th annual Creative Arts Emmy Awards will be held September 5 and 6 in Los Angeles. The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards will be held the following week, on September 14, and will air in Australia on Foxtel.
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Michael Idato is the culture editor-at-large of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.From our partners