Madonna’s Final Celebration Tour Stop in Rio de Janeiro Draws Record-Breaking Audience of 1.6 Million
The Queen of Pop held a free concert at the Copacabana Beach as a “thank you” to her fans “for celebrating more than four decades of music” during her global tour
Madonna promised her fans the biggest dance party in the world — and the Queen of Pop delivered on May 4 in Rio de Janeiro.
In March the singer, 65, announced she would be performing a historic free concert at Copacabana Beach for her final Celebration Tour show, and on the night a record-breaking 1.6 million fans watched the pop superstar perform her final Celebration Tour concert.
The show made history as, though the annual New Year’s Eve concerts at Copacabana Beach have drawn larger crowds, Madonna’s May 4 audience was her biggest ever, and the largest ever for a stand-alone concert by any artist, a record previously held by The Rolling Stones.
During the show, Madonna played a host of hits, including “Like A Virgin,” “Like A Prayer,” and “Into The Groove.”
For her performance of “Vogue,” the pop icon was joined on stage by Anitta, who shared her delight on her Instagram Stories.
“@madonna soooo happy for being part of this incredible moment with you,” she wrote across a video of the two artists together on stage during the concert.
Sponsored by Itaú Apresenta, the concert — her first in Brazil since 2012 — “will be free of charge as a thank you to her fans for celebration more than four decades of her music over the course of the epic global run of the tour,” stated a press release.
The show took place in front of the Belmond Copacabana Palance Hotel, and entry was available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The Material Girl kicked off her long-awaited Celebration Tour at London’s O2 Arena in October with an electrifying two-hour set during which she opened up about her road back to the stage after her hospitalization last year following a serious bacterial infection.
“I didn’t think I was gonna make it. Neither did my doctors. That’s why I woke up with all of my children sitting around me,” Madonna said of her kids Lourdes, 27, Rocco, 23, David, 18, Mercy, 18, and twins Stella and Estere, 11. “But the angels were protecting me, and my children were there. And my children always save me every time.”
Last month the singer shared a carousel of behind-the-scenes snaps of herself with her kids (David, Mercy, Stella and Estere all performed alongside mom during her run of shows) from their past few months on tour.
“On the day before our 80th show of the Celebration Tour I need to acknowledge my incredibly talented children who carried me through this Journey each of them bringing their own unique talent to the stage,” she wrote in the caption.
