Madonna’s biggest concert brings around 1.6 million people to Rio’s Copacabana beach

Madonna performed a free concert on Copacabana Beach on Saturday evening, transforming Rio de Janeiro’s vast expanse of sand into a huge dance floor populated by multitudes of her fans.

It was the final performance of The Celebration Tour, his first retrospective, which began in October in London.

The “Queen of Pop” started the show with her 1998 hit “Nothing Really Matters.” Huge cheers rise from the buzzing crowd, pressed against the barriers. Others held parties in well-lit apartments and hotels overlooking the waterfront. Helicopters and drones flew over the bay, while motorboats and sailboats anchored off the beach filled the bay.

“We are here in the most beautiful place in the world,” Madonna, 65, told the crowd. Pointing to views of the ocean, mountains and the Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking the city, she added: “This place is magical.”

Madonna performed her classic hits, including “Like A Virgin” and “Hung Up.” For the introduction to “Like A Prayer”, his head was entirely covered in a black cape, a rosary in his hands.

The star paid a moving tribute to “all the bright lights” lost to AIDS by singing “Live to Tell,” with black-and-white photos of people who have died from the disease flashing behind her.

Later, she was joined on stage by Brazilian artists Anitta and Pabllo Vittar.

Rio spent the last few days preparing for the show.

An estimated 1.6 million people attended the show, G1 reported, citing Rio City Hall’s tourism agency. This is more than 10 times Madonna’s record attendance of 130,000 at the Parc des Sceaux in Paris in 1987. Madonna’s official website billed the show as the biggest ever seen during her four-decade career.

In recent days, the buzz has been palpable. Fans gathered outside the majestic beachfront Copacabana Palace hotel, where Madonna is staying, hoping to catch a glimpse of the pop star. During the soundcheck on the stage set up in front of the hotel, they danced on the sand.

Saturday noon, supporters gathered in front of the hotel. A man with a white beard carried a sign saying: “Welcome Madonna, you are the best, I love you.”

Flags with “Madonna” printed against the iconic black and white wavy pattern of Copacabana sidewalks hung from balconies. The area was filled with street vendors and concert-goers dressed in themed T-shirts, sweating in the blazing sun.

“Since Madonna came here, I come every day in this outfit to welcome my idol, my diva, my queen of pop,” said Rosemary de Oliveira Bohrer, 69, who sported a gold cone bra and a black cap.

“It will be an unforgettable spectacle here in Copacabana,” said Oliveira Bohrer, a retired civil servant who lives in the area.

Eighteen sound towers were spread out along the beach to ensure all attendees could hear the hits. His two-hour show began at 10:37 p.m. local time, almost 50 minutes late.

City Hall produced a report in April estimating that the concert would inject 293 million reais ($57 million) into the local economy. Hotel capacity is expected to reach 98% in Copacabana, according to Rio’s hotel association. Fans from all over Brazil, but also from Argentina and France, searched for Airbnbs for the weekend, the platform said in a press release. Rio International Airport planned 170 additional flights between May 1 and 6, from 27 destinations, the city hall said in a statement.

“It’s a unique opportunity to see Madonna, who knows if she will ever come back,” said Alessandro Augusto, 53, who arrived from the Brazilian state of Ceara, about 2,500 kilometers from Rio.

“Welcome Queen!” read the Heineken advertisements plastered all over town, the lettering above an image of an upturned bottle cap resembling a crown.

Heineken wasn’t the only company looking to profit from this craze. Bars and restaurants prepare “Like a Virgin” cocktails. A downtown store famous for selling carnival clothing has completely reinvented itself, filling its shelves with Madonna-themed costumes, fans, fanny packs and even underwear.

The organization of the mega-event was similar to that of New Year’s Eve, when millions of people gather in Copacabana for its fireworks display, local authorities said. The annual event often results in widespread thefts and assaults, and some feared such problems could arise during Madonna’s show.

The Rio state security plan included the presence of 3,200 military personnel and 1,500 civilian police on standby. Before the concert, the Brazilian navy inspected ships wishing to position themselves offshore to follow the show.

A number of major concerts have previously taken place on Copacabana Beach, including Rod Stewart’s New Year’s Eve show in 1994 which attracted over 4 million fans and was the largest free rock concert in the world. history, according to Guinness World Records. But many of these spectators also came to see the Rio fireworks display. A more apt comparison might therefore be with the Rolling Stones in 2006, which saw 1.2 million people crowd the sand, according to Rio’s military police, according to the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo. reported at the time.

Ana Beatriz Soares, a fan at Copacabana on Saturday, said Madonna had left her mark over the decades.

“Madonna had to run so that today’s pop artists could walk. That’s why she’s important, because she serves as an inspiration to today’s pop divas,” Soares said.

“And that was 40 years ago. Not 40 days, but 40 months. That’s 40 years ago,” she said.