Popstar Shakira has performed in front of two million people after a free concert on a Brazilian beach drew in huge crowds.
The Colombian singer took to the stage on Copacabana Beach, in Rio de Janeiro, around 11pm on Saturday night, as drones flew overhead and wrote “I love you Brazil” in Portuguese in the sky.
The concert was part of her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran – Women No Longer Cry – world tour, which is named after her 2024 album.
It follows similar shows by Lady Gaga last year and Madonna in 2024, which were also attended by huge numbers of people dancing on the sand.
Shakira told the crowds about the first time she came to Brazil, some three decades ago.
“I arrived here when I was 18 years old, dreaming about singing for you,” Shakira said shortly after she came on stage. “And now look at this. Life is magical.”
Shakira sang fan favorites such as Hips Don’t Lie, La Tortura, and La Bicicleta, and ended her show with the song BZRP Music Sessions #53/66, which followed her separation from Spanish football player Gerard Piqué.
“Us women, every time we fall we get up a little wiser,” Shakira said during the performance.
Rio Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere wrote on X that two million people attended the performance, declaring: “The She-Wolf made history in Rio.”
The free concert is part of City Hall’s attempt to boost economic activity in the area after Carnival and New Year’s Eve festivities and before the monthlong Saint John’s Day celebrations in June.
“For us, parties are serious business. Because parties generate jobs, income, development, and identity for the city,” Cavaliere said on Wednesday, as he presented the city’s operational plan for the event.
“Our investment in this show will give us a financial return 40 times greater,” he said.
The performance was expected to generate around 777 million reais (around £114 million), according to a study by City Hall and Riotur, the municipality’s tourism company.
In April, Airbnb said it was seeing an increase in guests travelling to Brazil from different parts of Latin America and Europe.
Wanderson Andrade, a 30-year-old architect, said he flew in especially for the show from the city of Goiana in central Brazil, with plans to fly back the following day.
“I tried to get tickets to see her in Brazil last year but I didn’t succeed. Today is a dream come true,” said Andrade.
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
