Kiss cam

The kiss cam is a social pastime that takes place during arena, stadium and court sporting events in the United States and Canada.

A 'kiss cam' camera scans the crowd, and selects a couple, their images being shown on the jumbotron screens in the arena.

The kiss cam tradition originated in California in the early 1980s, as a way to fill in the gaps in play in professional baseball games, taking advantage of the possibilities of the then-new giant video screens.

[1] When the kiss cam is in action, the audience may be alerted by a known 'kiss-related' song being played, and/or an announcer warning the crowd.

Additionally, sporting event staff may appear as couples who reject kisses or proposals in order to entertain or surprise the attending audience.