Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro’s vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans.
It was the last show of The Celebration Tour, her first retrospective, which kicked off in October in London.
The “Queen of Pop” began the show with her 1998 hit “Nothing Really Matters.”
Huge cheers rose from the buzzing, tightly packed crowd, pressed up against the barriers.
Others held house parties in brightly lighted apartments and hotels overlooking the beachfront.
Helicopters and drones flew overhead, and the bay was filled with motorboats and yachts anchored on the beach.
“This is the most beautiful place in the world,” Madonna, 65, told the crowd. “This place is magical,” Madonna added, pointing to the sea views, mountains and Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking the city. In her “Like A Prayer” intro, she had a black cloak wrapped around her head and a rosary in her hand.
The star emotionally reflected on “all the bright lights” lost to AIDS as she sang “Live to Tell” as black-and-white photos of people who died from AIDS flashed behind her. Showed respect.
She was then taken on stage by Brazilian artists Anitta and Pablo Vittal.
Rio has spent the past few days preparing for the performance.
An estimated 1.6 million people attended the show, G1 reported, citing the Rio City Hall Tourism Board.
This is more than 10 times her attendance record of 130,000, set by Madonna at the Parc des Saux in Paris in 1987.
Madonna’s official website states that this show is her biggest in her 40-year career.
Her enthusiasm has been evident over the past few days. Fans crowded outside Madonna’s stately Copacabana Palace seaside hotel to catch a glimpse of the pop star.
They danced on the sand during sound check on a stage set up in front of the hotel.
Fans crowded in front of the hotel on Saturday afternoon. A man with a white beard holds up a placard that reads, Welcome Madonna, you are the best, I love you,” and the wordMadonna” is written against the background of the iconic black-and-white wave pattern of the Copacabana sidewalk. A flag was hoisted from the balcony. .
The area was filled with street vendors and concertgoers wearing his themed T-shirts, sweating under the hot sun.
“Ever since Madonna came here, I wear this outfit every day to say hello to my idol, diva, pop queen,” said Rosemary De, wearing a gold cone bra and black hat.・Oliveira Boler (69) said.
“It’s going to be an unforgettable show here in Copacabana,” said Oliveira Boler, a former civil servant who lives in the area.
Eighteen sound towers are dotted around the beach to ensure all visitors can hear the hits. Their two-hour show began at 10:37 p.m. Local time, we are nearly 50 minutes behind schedule.
City Hall produced a report in April estimating that concerts add $57 million to the local economy.
Hotel occupancy rates at Copacabana are expected to reach 98%, according to the Rio Hotel Association. 4,444 fans from all over Brazil and as far away as Argentina and France searched for Airbnb over the weekend, according to a statement from the platform.
Rio’s international airport was expecting 170 extra flights from 27 destinations between May 1 and 6, city hall said.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet Madonna. I don’t know if she’ll come back,” said Alessandro Augusto, 53, who flew in from Brazil’s Ceará state, about 2,555 miles from Rio. Told.
“Welcome Queen!” read the Heineken advertisements posted all over town. The text above an image of an upside-down bottle cap resembling a crown.
Heineken wasn’t the only company looking to capitalize on the excitement. The bar and restaurant offer ‘Like a Virgin’ cocktails.
A downtown store known for selling carnival costumes has been completely transformed, filling its shelves with Madonna costumes, fans, fanny packs and even underwear.
Local authorities said the structure of the mega-event was similar to New Year’s Eve, when millions flock to Copacabana to watch fireworks.
Theft and robbery are common at this annual event, and there were concerns that similar problems might occur at Madonna’s show.
Rio State’s security plan calls for 3,200 military personnel and 1,500 civilian police to be on standby. In the lead-up to the concert, the Brazilian Navy intercepted ships attempting to locate off the coast to watch the concert.
Copacabana Beach has hosted several large-scale concerts in the past, including his largest free rock concert of all time, which attracted more than 4 million fans and according to Guinness World Records. There is his 1994 New Year’s Eve show with Rod Stewart.
But because many of these spectators were there to watch Rio’s fireworks show, a better comparison would be to the Rolling Stones in 2006, when 1.2 million people packed the beaches, according to Rio’s military police. . Folha de São Paulo newspaper reported at the time.
Fan Ana Beatriz Soares, who was at Copacabana on Saturday, said Madonna has left her mark for decades.
“Madonna had to run just as today’s pop artists can run. That’s why she’s important because she’s an inspiration to today’s pop divas,” Soares said. Told.
“And that was 40 years ago. Not 40 days, but 40 months. It’s been 40 years,” she said.