With the free concert on Saturday evening in Rio de Janeiro, on Copacabana beach, in front of one and a half million people, Madonna closed her The Celebration Tour with the most impressive crowd of her career. But in the special ranking of the most crowded free live concerts, Miss Ciccone still remains behind… Antonello Venditti! The Roman singer-songwriter, with an ironic post, recalled how in the list published by a Material Girl fanbase profile (Madonna Daily) his concert at the Circus Maximus in 2001 for Roma’s victory of the Scudetto still appears in fifth place, right in front of Madonna’s Brazilian show.
Leading this special ranking is Rod Stewart’s performance in 1994, again in Copacabana, in front of 3.5 million people. It follows Jean-Michel Jarre’s blockbuster in Moscow in 1997 (3.5 million spectators) for the celebrations of the 850th anniversary of the Russian capital, third place for the Brazilian singer-songwriter Jorge Ben Jor who once again attracted the legendary beach of Rio three million people to celebrate New Year’s Eve 1993.
Below is the complete “Top 15” of the most crowded free music events, as reported by Wikipedia based on data from the New York Times.
1. December 31, 1994 Rod Stewart – Copacabana Beach Rio de Janeiro New Year’s Eve >3,500,000
2. September 6, 1997 Jean-Michel Jarre – Moscow State University Moscow 850th Anniversary of Moscow (1147-1997) Oxygene in Moscow >3,500,000
3. December 31, 1993 Jorge Ben Jor – Copacabana Beach Rio de Janeiro New Year’s Eve 3,000,000
4. July 14, 1990 Jean-Michel Jarre – La Défense Paris Bastille Day 2,500,000
5. June 24, 2001 Antonello Venditti – Circus Maximus Rome AS Roma’s 3rd Serie A victory 1,800,000
6. May 4, 2024 Madonna – Copacabana Beach Rio de Janeiro The Celebration Tour 1,600,000
September 28, 1991 Ac/Dc, Pantera, Metallica, The Black Crowes, EST Tushino Airfield Moscow Monsters of Rock 1,600,000
8. July 2, 2005 Various artists – Philadelphia Museum of Art Philadelphia Live 8 1,500,000
9. February 18, 2006 The Rolling Stones – Copacabana Beach Rio de Janeiro A Bigger Bang 1,500,000
10. April 5, 1986 Jean-Michel Jarre – Downtown Houston Houston Rendezvous Houston 1,300,000
11. July 21, 1983 Diana Ross – Great Lawn, Central Park New York City Diana Ross Worldwide from New York: For One And For All 1,200,000
12. September 20, 2009 Various artists – Plaza de la Revolución Havana Paz Sin Fronteras II 1,100,000
13. July 14, 1979 Jean-Michel Jarre – Place de la Concorde Paris Bastille Day 1,000,000
14. July 4, 1985 The Beach Boys – Philadelphia Museum of Art Philadelphia Independence Day concert 1,000,000
15. December 31, 2006 The Black Eyed Peas – Ipanema Beach Rio de Janeiro New Year’s Eve 1,000,000
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