She’s been known as the Queen of Pop throughout her decades-long career.
And on Saturday night, Madonna reminded the world exactly why that is – pulling in a record-breaking crowd of 1.6 million fans for an epic concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach.
The Vogue hitmaker took to Instagram yesterday with a clip from the history-making show and captioned it: ‘Blame it on Rio. Thank You, Brazil!!’
Such was the interest in the pop legend, who rolled back the years by appearing in trademark risque outfits including a catsuit and negligee, that the city was brought to a standstill by the crowds.
The number of people who rocked up for the event – the last of her Celebration world tour – was equivalent to four or five times the population of some small countries, including Iceland and Barbados.
The 65-year-old’s free concert saw the beach transformed into a gigantic dancefloor. There was a carnival atmosphere, reportedly without incident, as crowds descended in their droves to party to her iconic tracks, including Holiday and Like A Virgin.
The Rio turnout eclipsed her previous record attendance of 130,000 fans at Paris’s Parc des Sceaux in 1987 by more than ten-fold.
During the show, Madonna, who was joined on stage by special guests including Diplo, Anitta, Pabllo Vittar and Bob the Drag Queen, gushed: ‘Here we are in the most beautiful place in the world. This place is magic.’
She also had her usual controversial moments, including passionately grabbing and kissing a female dancer.
