Madonna turned Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach into the largest stage in the world with a historic concert on Saturday night attended by an estimated audience of 1.5 million people, who did not stop dancing for two and a half hours. of spectacle.
Genius and figure, the queen of pop did not give her admirers a break and chained one after one the biggest hits in her 40-year career before a multigenerational audience that chanted and danced to all the songs.
The 65-year-old diva did not disappoint those who waited up to twelve hours to see her and approached the public several times along the three catwalks that led from the gigantic 812 square meter stage set up on the sands of the best-known beach in Brazil.
He did not deny greetings to him or to the hundreds of people who attended the concert from dozens of boats anchored in front of the stage.
And her admirers applauded her at all times and accompanied her several times with a concert of loud fans – obligatory given the unusual temperature of 30 degrees at this time -, mostly decorated with the colors of the rainbow.
Shortly before 11 p.m., the “queen of pop,” dressed all in black, appeared on stage performing “Nothing Really Matters,” a hymn to resilience.
“Here we are, Rio, the most beautiful place in the world!”: the diva delighted the Brazilian public for more than two hours.
With this concert announced for days as “historic,” the 65-year-old American pop star closed “The Celebration Tour” in style, touring the glory of his 40-year career, inventions, brilliance and scandals.
On a gigantic stage of more than 800 m2, he reviewed his heyday and the disconcerting series of his musical and sartorial metamorphoses, from pop to electronic music, passing through moments of cabaret inspiration.
Flanked by several of her children, who accompanied her with music or dancing, Madonna was also honored by illustrious guests, with the Brazilian flag as a backdrop.
When she performed her hit “Vogue,” she was joined on stage by Brazilian singer Anitta, who introduced Rio funk, the soundtrack of Rio’s favelas, to the rest of the world.
Also present were drag queen Pabllo Vittar, a Brazilian pop star, and a group of children who played percussion in the city’s famous samba schools.
The “queen of pop” also had a memory for the “king of pop,” Michael Jackson. A moment that has gone viral.
In the audience, fans from different generations talked about Madonna’s place in their lives.
Alba and Roxy Rueda, two Argentine sisters aged 48 and 46, bought their plane tickets as soon as the rumor of the concert emerged a few months ago.
“When I was nine years old, my older sister, who died last year, gave me my first Walkman with the cassette of Like a Virgin,” the hit that Madonna released. “Since then we have not stopped listening to it. Therefore, coming here is linked for us to our relationship as sisters,” says Alba.
To increase the pressure before the concert, several DJs, including Diplo, an American turntable ace, took turns as night fell to bring joy to “the largest dance floor in the world.”
Then the time came for the queen to leave her palace, or rather her palace: the mythical Copacabana Palace, a haven of peace and luxury for Hollywood and pop stars for decades, where she has established her family accommodation since the beginning of the week. .
Madonna walked down a catwalk installed for the occasion, which took her directly to the stage.
For the event, the police were present in force, almost on all the streets of a neighborhood accustomed to crime, but also in the air with helicopters and drones.
After 80 concerts in Europe, North America and Mexico, the Rio show serves as a finale, but also to clear up any doubts about his state of health. The rumors have not stopped since a serious bacterial infection landed the singer in intensive care in June 2023, terrifying her fans around the world.
In front of the Copacabana Palace and along the beach where souvenir sellers set up shop in Madonna’s time and increased their stocks and prices, the atmosphere is festive in recent days and recalls the lightness of the Rio carnival, which ended almost ago. three months.
Three planes and 270 tons of material landed in the “Wonderful City” with the American star, experienced in high-precision pyrotechnic shows.
The show was an important event for the city of Rio. The concert will generate 293 million reais (53 million euros) for the local economy, estimated the city council, which contributed 20 million reais to a production cost estimated at 60 million.
