RIO DE JANEIRO – Lady Gaga will give a free concert on Copacabana Beach Saturday night, the second such show in as many years organized by Rio de Janeiro's City Hall.
The show will be the biggest of the pop star’s career, as it was for Madonna who also turned the expansive stretch of sand into a massive dance floor last year.
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The large-scale performances are part of an effort led by City Hall to boost economic activity after Carnival and New Years’ Eve festivities and the upcoming month-long Saint John’s Day celebrations in June.
“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 Mother Monster for her first show in the country since 2012. Rio’s metro employees danced to Lady Gaga’s 2008 hit song “LoveGame” and gave instructions for Saturday in a video. A free exhibition celebrating her career sold out. And “Little Monsters,” as her fans are known, sang and danced in front of Copacabana Palace where the pop star is staying, in the hope of catching a glimpse of her.
Hours before the show was due to start, the beach and seafront were packed with eager fans, many of whom had arrived at the crack of dawn armed with snacks and drinks to secure a good spot.
They spent the day under a blazing sun, while others perched in trees, determined to get a better view.
“It's a dream come true," said Ana Lara Folador, a 23-year-old who was with her sister. Lady Gaga “really shaped a part of my personality, as a person and an artist.” .
Rio’s City Hall said in a recent report that around 1.6 million people are expected to attend and that the show should inject at least 600 million reais (some $106 million) into Rio’s economy, nearly 30% more than Madonna’s show.
While the vast majority of attendees will be from Rio, the event is expected to attract Brazilians from across the country and international visitors.
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,” said Serrano, who was 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.”
Lady Gaga's more than 2-hour performance is scheduled to start at 9:45 p.m. local time. Sixteen sound towers have been spread along the beach to ensure the hits resonate across the vast space.
Rio state’s security plan include the presence of 3,300 military and 1,500 police officers, and 400 military firefighters.
Rio officials have a history of organizing huge concerts on Copacabana Beach. Madonna's show drew an estimated 1.6 million fans last year, while 4 million people flooded onto the beach for a 1994 New Year’s Eve show by Rod Stewart in 1994. According to Guinness World Records, that was the biggest free rock concert in history.
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