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An estimated 2.5 million people attended a free Lady Gaga concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach over the weekend.
The singer’s largest ever concert was paid for by the Brazilian city to revitalise the local economy, with an estimated boost of $100m (£75m/€88m). Lady Gaga last performed in Brazil in 2012, meaning fans (dubbed ‘Little Monsters’) had waited well over 10 years for the singer to return to the country.
“Nothing could prepare me for the feeling I had during last night’s show – the absolute pride and joy I felt singing for the people of Brazil,” said Lady Gaga in a post on Instagram.
“The sight of the crowd during my opening songs took my breath away. Your heart shines so bright, your culture is so vibrant and special, I hope you know how grateful I am to have shared this historical moment with you.
“An estimated 2.5 million people came to see me sing, the biggest crowd for any woman in history.”
Nothing could prepare me for the feeling I had during last night’s show—the absolute pride and joy I felt singing for the people of Brazil. The sight of the crowd during my opening songs took my breath away. Your heart shines so bright, your culture is so vibrant and special, I… pic.twitter.com/KCXvMxakZx
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) May 4, 2025
However, the record-breaking concert was slightly overshadowed by a thwarted bomb attack. The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro state, along with the justice ministry, said suspects had recruited people to carry out attacks using improvised explosives.
The aim was to gain notoriety on social media, according to a report from the BBC.
Police arrested the person responsible for the plan, as well as a teenager. The alleged person behind the planned attack was arrested for illegal possession of a firearm in Rio Grande do Sul, while the teenager was detained for storing child pornography in Rio. They had also been promoting the radicalisation of teenagers.
Lady Gaga and her team only found out about the threat the following morning via media reports.
Aside from the thwarted bomb attack, a major security operation saw some 5,000 police officers on duty with attendees having to pass through metal detectors. Drones and facial recognition cameras were also utilised to protect attendees.
Saturday’s (May 3) performance formed part of a promotional tour for Lady Gaga’s eighth album ‘Mayhem’.
Lady Gaga is not the first act to play a massive free concert in Rio, with Madonna also performing on Copacabana beach in May last year thanks to funding from the city.