RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) 鈥 Lady Gaga gave a free concert Saturday night in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach for the biggest show of her career.
鈥淭onight, we're making history. (...) Thank you for making history with me,鈥 Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd.
The Mother Monster, as she is known, kicked off the show at around 22:10 p.m. local time with her 2011 song 鈥淏loody Mary.鈥 Cries of joy rose from the tightly-packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand.
Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show.
Lady Gaga performed her classic hits, including 鈥淧oker Face鈥 and 鈥淎lejandro,鈥 switching between an array of dresses including one with the colors of the Brazilian flag.
Some fans - many of them young - arrived on the beach at the crack of dawn to secure a good spot, armed with snacks and drinks. They spent the day under a blazing sun, while others perched in trees, determined to get a panoramic view.
鈥淭oday is the best day of my life,鈥 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. 鈥淚t's surreal to be here.鈥
into a massive dance floor last year.
The large-scale performances are part of an effort led by City Hall to boost economic activity after and New Years鈥 Eve festivities and the upcoming month-long Saint John鈥檚 Day celebrations in June.
鈥淚t brings activity to the city during what was previously considered the low season 鈥 filling hotels and increasing spending in bars, restaurants, and retail, generating jobs and income for the population,鈥 said Osmar Lima, the city鈥檚 secretary of economic development, in a statement released by Rio City Hall鈥檚 tourism department last month.
Rio鈥檚 City Hall said in a recent report that the show should inject at least 600 million reais (some $106 million) into Rio鈥檚 economy.
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 since, as it geared up to welcome the pop star for her first show in the country since 2012. Rio鈥檚 metro employees danced to Lady Gaga鈥檚 2008 hit song 鈥淟oveGame鈥 and gave instructions for Saturday in a video. 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鈥檚 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.
鈥淚鈥檝e been a 100% fan of Lady Gaga my whole life,鈥 said Serrano, who was wearing a T-shirt featuring Lady Gaga鈥檚 outlandish costumes over the years.
For her, the mega-star represents 鈥渢otal freedom of expression - being who one wants without shame.鈥
Rio officials have a history of organizing huge concerts on Copacabana Beach. Madonna鈥檚 show drew an estimated 1.6 million fans last year, while 4 million people flooded onto the beach for a 1994 New Year鈥檚 Eve show by Rod Stewart in 1994. According to Guinness World Records, that was .
To ensure fans could hear the songs, sixteen sound towers were spread along the beach.
Rio state鈥檚 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 canceled 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.
鈥淪he's the best artist in the world,鈥 the 25-year-old said, as chants of 鈥淕aga, I love you鈥 in Portuguese rose from the crowd behind him.
____
Follow AP鈥檚 coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
