Lady Gaga performs to over two million fans at free concert on Copacabana
'Tonight, we're making history. Thank you for making history with me,' Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd in the Brazilian capital.
Concert organisers said at least 2.1 million people attended the show.
She kicked off the show at around 10.10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary.
Cries of joy rose from the crowds of tightly-packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the beach's vast stretch of sand.
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Lady Gaga performed her classic hits, including Poker Face and Alejandro, switching between an array of costumes, including a dress with the colours of the Brazilian flag.
Some fans – many of them young – arrived on the beach at the crack of dawn to secure a good spot, carrying snacks and drinks. They spent the day under a blazing sun, while others perched in trees, determined to get a panoramic view.
'Today is the best day of my life,' said Manoela Dobes, a 27-year-old designer who was wearing a dress plastered with a photograph from when she met Lady Gaga in the United States in 2019.
'It's surreal to be here.'
Madonna turned Copacabana Beach into a massive dance floor last year with her own free show at the iconic stretch of seaside.
The large-scale performances are part of an effort led by Rio's City Hall to boost economic activity after Carnival and New Year's Eve festivities ahead of the upcoming month-long Saint John's Day celebrations in June.
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'It brings activity to the city during what was previously considered the low season – filling hotels and increasing spending in bars, restaurants, and retail, generating jobs and income for the population,' said Osmar Lima, the city's secretary of economic development, in a statement released by Rio City Hall's tourism department last month.
Similar concerts are scheduled to take place every year in May at least until 2028.
Lady Gaga arrived in Rio in the early hours of Tuesday. The city has been alive with Gaga-mania since, as it geared up to welcome the pop star for her first show in the country since 2012.
Alamy
Alamy
Rio's metro employees danced to Lady Gaga's 2008 hit song LoveGame and gave instructions for Saturday in a video to commuters. A free exhibition celebrating her career sold out.
While the vast majority of attendees were from Rio, the event also attracted Brazilians from across the country and international visitors.
More than 500,000 tourists poured into the city in the days leading up to the show, more than double the initial forecast, according to data from the local bus station and Tom Jobim airport, Rio's City Hall said in a statement on Friday.
Ingrid Serrano, a 30-year-old engineer, made a cross-continent trip from Colombia to Brazil to attend the show. 'I've been a 100% fan of Lady Gaga my whole life,' she said while wearing a T-shirt featuring Lady Gaga's outlandish costumes over the years.
For her, the mega-star represents 'total freedom of expression – being who one wants without shame'.
Rio officials have a history of organising huge concerts on Copacabana Beach. Madonna's show drew an estimated 1.6 million fans last year, while four million people flooded onto the beach for a New Year's Eve show by Rod Stewart in 1994. According to Guinness World Records, that was the biggest free rock concert in history.
To ensure fans could hear the songs, sixteen sound towers were spread along the beach. Rio state's security plan included the presence of 3,300 military and 1,500 police officers, and 400 military firefighters.
Among those present were Lady Gaga admirers who remember their disappointment in 2017 when the artist cancelled a performance scheduled in Rio at the last minute due to health issues.
Ricardo Filho, who has been a fan since childhood, said it was worth the wait. 'She's the best artist in the world,' the 25-year-old said, as chants of 'Gaga, I love you' in Portuguese rose from the crowd behind him.
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