More than 2 million fans attend the Lady Gaga Free Concert in Rio de Janeiro

Lady Gaga gave a free concert on Saturday night in front of more than 2 million fans, who arrived in Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career.

“Tonight, we are making history,” Lady Gage told a crowd screaming. “Thank you for making history with me.”

The mother monster, as it is known, started the program just after 10 pm local time with its 2011 song “Bloody Mary”. The screams of joy rose from the tight fans who sang and danced shoulder to shoulder in the vast sand of sand.

The organizers of the concert said that 2.1 million people attended the show, which was funded by the city of Rio in an effort to revitalize the economy. In a recent report, the City Council said that the program should bring at least 600 million reais, or approximately $ 106 million.

For Gaga, the performance was also an opportunity to promote its next Tour “Mayhem Ball”with songs from his latest album Mayhem. The album debuted at number 1 at Billboard 200 when it was launched in early March and includes new successes such as “Abracadabra”.

Lady Gaga also made a series of older classics in her free show on Saturday, including “Poker Face” and “Alejandro”, changing between a variety of dresses, including one with the colors of the Brazilian flag.

Some fans, many of them young, arrived at the beach at dawn to secure a good place, armed with snacks and drinks. They spent the day under a burning sun, while others perched on trees, determined to get a panoramic view.

“Today is the best day of my life,” said Manoela Dobes, a 27 -year -old designer who wore a dress stuck with a photograph of when she met Lady Gaga in the United States in 2019. “It is surreal to be here.”

Madonna also turned Copacabana beach into a massive dance floor last year.

Large -scale performances are part of an effort led by the City Council to boost economic activity after the Carnival and New Year’s festivities and the next San Juan Day celebrations in June.

“It brings activity to the city during what was previously considered the low season: filling hotels and increasing spending on bars, restaurants and retailers, generating jobs and income for the population,” said Osmar Lima, secretary of economic development of the city, in a statement published by the Tourism Department of Río City Hall last month.

Similar concerts are being programmed 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 then, since it was prepared to welcome the pop star for its first show in the country since 2012. River subway employees danced in Lady Gaga’s success song in 2008 “Lovegame” and gave instructions for Saturday in a video. A free exhibition that celebrates his career was exhausted.

Although the vast majority of attendees were from Rio, the event also attracted Brazilians from all over the country and international visitors.

More than 500,000 tourists arrived in the city in the days before the show, more than double the initial prognosis, according to data from the local bus station and Tom Jobim airport, he said Friday in a statement.

Ingrid Serrano, a 30 -year -old engineer, traveled from Colombia to Brazil to attend the show.

“I have been 100% of Lady Gaga’s fan all my life,” said Serrano, who wore a shirt with the extravagant costumes of Lady Gaga over the years.

For her, the mega-star represents “freedom of total expression, being the one who wants without shame.”

River officials have a history of organizing large concerts in Copacabana Beach. Madonna’s program attracted approximately 1.6 million fans last year, while 4 million people flooded on the 1994 New Year’s Eve show by Rod Stewart in 1994. According to Guinness World Records, that was the largest free rock concert in history.

To ensure that fans could listen to the songs, sixteen sound towers extended along the beach.

The river state security plan included 3,300 Army members, 1,500 police officers and 400 firefighters.

Among those present were Lady Gaga’s admirers who remember their disappointment in 2017, when the artist canceled a scheduled performance in the last minute due to health problems.

Ricardo Filho, who has been a fan since childhood, said it was worth the wait.

“She is the best artist in the world,” said the 25 -year -old, as songs of “Gaga, I love you” in Portuguese rose from the crowd behind him.

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