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List of most-attended concerts

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Not to be confused with List of most-attended concert tours.

Audience view of Vasco Rossi's Modena Park 2017 concert in Modena, Italy. The largest attendance for a ticketed concert (225,173)

The following is a list of the most-attended concerts which have drawn at least 100,000 people. The oldest 100,000-crowd show reported to Billboard Boxscore is Grateful Dead at Englishtown's Raceway Park on September 3, 1977, with 107,019 fans. Internationally, 40 ticketed concerts have surpassed the initial record set by Grateful Dead. Currently, Italian singer Vasco Rossi holds the record with his solo concert on July 1, 2017 with a total of 225,173 tickets sold at Modena Park. However, that record is set to be broken by Croatian singer Marko Perković Thompson who has sold approximately 500,000 tickets for his upcoming concert at Zagreb Hippodrome which will be held on July 5, 2025.[1] Michael Jackson held 11 concerts with attendance exceeding 100,000. Robbie Williams achieved this four times, and Queen and The Rolling Stones each did so three times.

Although the attendance numbers of free concerts are known to be exaggerations,[2] media outlets have registered several concerts with a million people or more. Both Jean-Michel Jarre's concert in Moscow 1997 and Rod Stewart's concert in Copacabana 1994 were reported to attract audiences of more than 3.5 million people. Jarre is the only act to attract a million spectators on five occasions (Paris in 1979, 1990 and 1995; Houston in 1986; and Moscow in 1997).

In 2024, Madonna's free-to-attend closing performance for the Celebration Tour at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro attracted over 1.6 million people,[3] setting the record for the highest attendance for a standalone concert at the time.[4] Lady Gaga broke the record in 2025 with 2.5 million attendees at the same place for Mayhem on the Beach, a promotional show dedicated to her album Mayhem.[5] Both concerts were funded by Rio de Janeiro's state government to promote tourism.[6]

Most-attended concerts

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Key
* Indicates the concert was the most-attended of all time up to that point
‡ Indicates standalone free concert

Ticketed concerts

[edit]

The following shows are the most-attended single-night engagements for a ticketed event with 100,000 people or more (excluding music festivals).

Date Artist Venue City Event Tickets sold Ref.
1 July 2017 Vasco Rossi Parco Enzo Ferrari Modena Modena Park 2017 * 225,173 [7]
28 June 2005 Bijelo Dugme Belgrade Hippodrome Belgrade Turneja 2005: Sarajevo, Zagreb, Beograd * 220,000 [8]
31 July 1999 Glay Makuhari Messe Chiba Glay Expo'99 Survival * 200,000 [9]
20 April 1990 Paul McCartney Maracanã Stadium Rio de Janeiro The Paul McCartney World Tour * 184,000 [10]
16 January 1988 Tina Turner Break Every Rule World Tour * 180,000 [11]
26 January 1980 Frank Sinatra Frank Sinatra Live * 175,000
10 September 2005 Luciano Ligabue Aeroporto di Reggio Emilia Reggio Emilia Campovolo 165,264 [12]
19 July 1988 Bruce Springsteen Radrennbahn Weissensee Berlin Tunnel of Love Express Tour 160,000 [13]
28 June 2013 Ceca Ušće Park Belgrade Poziv Tour 150,500 [14]
20 September 1997 U2 Aeroporto di Reggio Emilia Reggio Emilia PopMart Tour 150,000 [15]
21 July 1990 Roger Waters Potsdamer Platz Berlin Live in Berlin 150,000 [16]
18 June 1983 Kiss Maracanã Stadium Rio de Janeiro Creatures of the Night Tour 137,000 [17]
9 August 2003 Robbie Williams Phoenix Park Dublin 2003 Tour 135,000 [18]
20 March 1981 Queen Estádio do Morumbi São Paulo The Game Tour 131,000 [19]
4 May 2024 Hua Chenyu Yangma Island Yantai 2024 Mars Concert Tour 130,000 [20]
20 August 2022 Helene Fischer Neue Messe München Munich Rausch Live – Die Tour 130,000 [21]
29 August 1987 Madonna Parc de Sceaux Paris Who's That Girl World Tour 130,000 [22]
5 August 1995 The Rolling Stones Great Strahov Stadium Prague Voodoo Lounge Tour 126,742 [23]
7 September 1996 Michael Jackson Letná Park Prague HIStory World Tour 125,000 [24]
11 September 1988 Aintree Racecourse Liverpool Bad World Tour 125,000 [25]
10 August 1996 Oasis Knebworth Park Stevenage (What's the Story) Morning Glory? Tour 125,000 [26]
11 August 1996 125,000
3 August 2003 Robbie Williams Knebworth Park Stevenage 2003 Tour 125,000 [27]
2 August 2003 125,000
1 August 2003 125,000
24 July 1990 Lepa Brena Vasil Levski National Stadium Sofia Great Bulgarian Tour 122,000 [28]
20 May 2022 Vasco Rossi Trentino Music Arena Trento Vasco Live Tour 2022 120,000 [29]
17 June 2006 Ceca Ušće Park Belgrade Grom Tour 120,000 [30]
6 November 1993 Madonna Maracanã Stadium Rio de Janeiro The Girlie Show 120,000 [31]
9 August 1986 Queen Knebworth Park Stevenage Magic Tour 120,000 [32]
25 July 1982 The Rolling Stones Roundhay Park Leeds The Rolling Stones European Tour 1982 120,000 [33]
21 March 1981 Queen Estádio do Morumbi São Paulo The Game Tour 120,000 [19]
7 September 1994 Pink Floyd Strahov Stadium Prague The Division Bell Tour 115,000 [34]
26 January 2025 Coldplay Narendra Modi Stadium Ahmedabad Music of the Spheres World Tour 111,989 [35]
25 January 2025 111,581
15 June 2024 George Strait Kyle Field College Station The King at Kyle Field 110,905 [36]
11 November 1993 Michael Jackson Estadio Azteca Mexico City Dangerous World Tour 110,000 [37]
9 November 1993 110,000
7 November 1993 110,000
31 October 1993 110,000
29 October 1993 110,000
3 March 2023 Ed Sheeran Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne +–=÷× Tour 110,000 [38]
2 March 2023 108,000
3 September 1977 Grateful Dead Raceway Park Englishtown Terrapin Station Tour * 107,019 [39]
25 May 2024 AC/DC RCF Arena Reggio Emilia Power Up Tour 105,000 [40]
17 October 1993 Michael Jackson Estádio do Morumbi São Paulo Dangerous World Tour 105,000 [41]
15 October 1993 105,000
7 June 2014 George Strait AT&T Stadium Arlington The Cowboy Rides Away Tour 104,793 [42]
30 April 2022 Garth Brooks Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge The Garth Brooks Stadium Tour 102,000 [43]
9 September 2023 Hua Chenyu Beijing National Stadium Beijing 2023 Mars Concert Tour 100,000 [44]
10 September 2023 100,000
22 July 2023 Harry Styles RCF Arena Reggio Emilia Love On Tour 100,000 [45]
25 November 2017 Ricky Martin Zócalo Mexico City One World Tour 100,000 [46]
28 March 2007 Shakira Giza Plateau Cairo Oral Fixation Tour 100,000 [47]
21 September 1993 Michael Jackson Yarkon Park Tel Aviv Dangerous World Tour 100,000 [48]

Free concerts

[edit]

The following shows are the most-attended single-night engagements for a free event with one million people or more. The first ever was by French musician Jean-Michel Jarre in Paris in 1979, which created the Guinness World Records entry. This list also includes multi-artist festivals, which may not be directly comparable to single-artist concerts. Attendance numbers for many of the kinds of events listed here rely on estimations from the promoters and are known to be exaggerations.[2]

Date Artist Venue City Event Attendees Ref.
31 December 1994 Rod Stewart Copacabana Beach Rio de Janeiro New Year's Eve * >3,500,000 [49]
6 September 1997 Jean-Michel Jarre Moscow State University Moscow 850th Anniversary of Moscow * 3,500,000
31 December 1993 Jorge Ben Copacabana Beach Rio de Janeiro New Year's Eve * 3,000,000 [50]
3 May 2025 Lady Gaga Copacabana Beach Rio de Janeiro Mayhem on the Beach ‡ 2,500,000 [5]
14 July 1990 Jean-Michel Jarre La Défense Paris Bastille Day * 2,500,000 [51]
24 June 2001 Antonello Venditti Circus Maximus Rome AS Roma's 3rd Serie A Victory 1,800,000 [52]
4 May 2024 Madonna Copacabana Beach Rio de Janeiro The Celebration Tour ‡ 1,600,000 [53]
28 September 1991 Various Tushino Airfield Moscow Monsters of Rock 1,600,000 [54]
18 February 2006 The Rolling Stones Copacabana Beach Rio de Janeiro A Bigger Bang ‡ 1,500,000 [55]
2 July 2005 Various Philadelphia Museum of Art Philadelphia Live 8 1,500,000 [56]
5 April 1986 Jean-Michel Jarre Downtown Houston Houston 150th Anniversary of Houston * 1,300,000 [57]
20 September 2009 Various Plaza de la Revolución Havana Paz Sin Fronteras II 1,000,000 [58]
31 December 2006 Black Eyed Peas Ipanema Beach Rio de Janeiro New Year's Eve 1,000,000 [59]
4 July 1985 The Beach Boys Philadelphia Museum of Art Philadelphia Independence Day 1,000,000 [60]
14 July 1979 Jean-Michel Jarre Place de la Concorde Paris Bastille Day * 1,000,000 [61]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Prodane sve karte za Thompsona. Entrio: Bit će preko pola milijuna ljudi na Hipodromu" (in Croatian). April 3, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  2. ^ a b Dwyer, Jim (July 23, 2008). "Great Lawn: A Bubble of History Bursts". The New York Times. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  3. ^ Frost, Caroline (May 5, 2024). "Madonna Makes History With 1.6 million Crowd In Rio On Final Night Of Tour". Deadline. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  4. ^ Kreps, Daniel (May 3, 2024). "Madonna Closes Out Celebration Tour in Front of Record-Setting 1.6 Million Fans in Brazil". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Peters, Mitchell (May 4, 2025). "Lady Gaga Draws 2.5 Million Fans to Record-Breaking Free Concert at Rio's Copacabana Beach". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 5, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  6. ^ "Lady Gaga Reúne 2,1 Milhões de Pessoas em Show Histórico em Copacabana, Diz Riotur" [Lady Gaga Brings 2.1 Million People Together in Historic Copacabana Show, Says Riotur]. G1 (in Portuguese). May 4, 2025. Archived from the original on May 4, 2025. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  7. ^ Gottfried, Gideon (June 29, 2017). "Rossi Sets Record In Italy". Pollstar. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  8. ^ "Koncert "Bijelog Dugmeta" 2005. Na Hipodromu: Ozvučenje bilo loše, moraju da vrate pare za karte". Novosti.rs (in Serbian (Latin script)). Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  9. ^ "10 年ぶりの『Glay Expo』をWowow で独占生中継！". Oricon (in Japanese). September 18, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  10. ^ "Arts and Media/Music Feats & Facts/Solo Rock Show Crowd". Guinness World Records. May 25, 2006. Archived from the original on May 25, 2006. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  11. ^ "A record 180,000 turn out for Tina". Chicago Sun-Times. January 18, 1988. Archived from the original on December 16, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  12. ^ "Italian Singer Ligabue Sets First U.S. Tour". Billboard. September 16, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  13. ^ "Springsteen going over Berlin Wall". Chicago Sun-Times. July 13, 1988. Archived from the original on December 10, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  14. ^ "Na Ušću 150.000 Ljudi skandiralo "Ceco, Mi te Volimo"". Plus Online. Plus Online Magazine. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  15. ^ "'U2: The Ultimate Music Guide' – on sale now". NME. April 29, 2009. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  16. ^ Guiccione, Bob (July 21, 2017). "Remembering Roger Waters' 1990 Concert At The Berlin Wall". Spin.
  17. ^ Weiss, Brett (2016). Encyclopedia of Kiss: Music, Personnel, Events and Related Subjects. McFarland & Company. p. 43. ISBN 9780306819209.
  18. ^ 5 Times Robbie Williams Rocked Ireland - 25 years of the Ultimate Entertainer!. Danny Joyce. 2022.
  19. ^ a b Henke, James (June 11, 1981). "Queen Holds Court in South America". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 9, 2009.
  20. ^ "华晨宇日出演唱会吸引了13万歌迷相聚牟平什-音乐圈-虎扑社区" [Hua Chenyu's sunrise concert attracted 130,000 fans. What level is it? It set a record for Yantai concerts]. m.hupu.com (in Chinese). Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  21. ^ "Helene-Fischer-Konzert in München: Florian Silbereisen sorgt mit Ansage für Gänsehaut". GMX. August 21, 2022. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  22. ^ Bassets, Luis (August 31, 1987). "Madonna convocó en París a 130.000 personas". El País (in Spanish). Madrid: Jesús de Polanco. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
  23. ^ "Boxscore Top 10 Concert Grosses" (PDF). Billboard. August 19, 2017. p. 10. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  24. ^ "Michael Jackson Statue Plans Draw Protests by Czechs". CBS News. June 30, 2010. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  25. ^ Wright, Jade (June 27, 2009). "Michael Jackson Liverpool's gig in 1988: Unique star, unique date". liverpoolecho. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  26. ^ "Oasis Knebworth 1996: 'We had no fear'". September 17, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  27. ^ Hamilton, James (August 3, 2003). "Robbie gigs make music history and traffic misery". The Sunday Herald. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  28. ^ "The famous, spectacular concert in Sofia, when I landed by helicopter — provided by the then-president Todor Zhivkov — onto the packed 'Vasil Levski' Stadium, where 122,000 Bulgarians sang with me "I am a Yugoslav."". Dnevni Avaz. July 25, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  29. ^ "Vasco Rossi, a Trento la carica dei 120.000 per il ritorno del rocker dopo la pandemia". May 19, 2022.
  30. ^ Nikolić, Dejana. "17. juna 2006. na Ušću u Beogradu Ceca je održala koncert i ovim događajem je oborila rekord posete. Na koncertu je prisustvovalo preko 120.000 posetilaca". Blic. Blic Show - Zabava. Retrieved June 17, 2006.
  31. ^ "Madonna Concert Draws 120,000". The Buffalo News. November 8, 1993. Archived from the original on November 29, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  32. ^ Michaels, Sean (February 21, 2012). "Queen's show goes on as Adam Lambert replaces Freddie Mercury". The Guardian. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  33. ^ "Andy Kershaw: The Rolling Stones Guide To Painting And Decorating". sabotagetimes.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  34. ^ "Top 4 Největší hudební koncerty v historii České republiky!". iDNES.cz. January 4, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  35. ^ "Coldplay Breaks Record for Largest-Ever Stadium Shows of the 21st Century". Billboard. January 27, 2025. Archived from the original on January 28, 2025. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  36. ^ "George Strait Breaks Attendance Record With Largest Concert Ever Held in The U.S." Billboard. June 15, 2024. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  37. ^ "Michael Jackson's Record". estadioazteca.com.mx. June 13, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  38. ^ Lu, Donna (March 4, 2023). "Ed Sheeran breaks Australian record for ticketed concert attendance". The Guardian. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  39. ^ "Billboard Top Boxoffice" (PDF). Billboard. September 17, 2017. p. 39. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  40. ^ "Gli AC/DC stregano i 105mila fan della Rcf Arena". May 26, 2024.
  41. ^ "Relembre a épica passagem de Michael Jackson pela cidade em 1993". April 27, 2021.
  42. ^ "Attendance Records Shattered After George Strait Concert". Dallascowboys.com. June 11, 2014. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
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  44. ^ "准时起床、开唱两天前不进食 华晨宇巡演保持最佳状态 | 联合早报". Zaobao (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  45. ^ "Harry Styles' Love on Tour concludes after 173 concerts across the globe". Geo TV. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  46. ^ "Ricky Martin's Concert in Mexico City Draws More Than 100,000 Fans: See Photos". Billboard.com. November 27, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  47. ^ "Acts for the Ages: The Pyramids' Most Iconic Concerts". Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  48. ^ "Behind the Headlines: Michael Jackson Visit to Israel Was Taste of Normalcy for Teens". March 20, 2015.
  49. ^ "Largest Attendance of a Free Concert". Guinness World Records. December 31, 1994. Archived from the original on May 4, 2025. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  50. ^ McWhirter, Norris (January 3, 1953). "The Guinness Book of Records 1993". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  51. ^ McWhirter, Norris (December 14, 1993). The Guinness Book of Records 1993. Bantam Books. ISBN 9780553562576. Retrieved December 14, 2017 – via Internet Archive. Jean-Michel Jarre concert Guinness.
  52. ^ "la Repubblica/sport: Un milione al Circo Massimo per la notte giallorossa". la Repubblica. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  53. ^ "Madonna Leva 1,6 Milhão a Copacabana, Diz Riotur" [Madonna Takes 1.6 Million to Copacabana, Says Riotur] (in Portuguese). G1. May 5, 2024. Archived from the original on May 5, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  54. ^ Smith, Nathan (August 9, 2012). "No Fences: Garth Brooks & the Fuzzy Math of 10 Mega-Concerts". houstonpress.com. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  55. ^ Rohter, Larry (February 19, 2006). "The Stones Rock 1.5 Million in Rio Days Before Carnival". The New York Times. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  56. ^ Sarah Lyall (July 3, 2005). "Musical Cry to Help Africa's Poor Is Heard Around Globe". The New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  57. ^ Hawkins, Jonathan (April 5, 2016). "The tragic triumph of the world's largest concert". CNN. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  58. ^ "Huge crowd attends Cuba peace concert". Reuters. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
  59. ^ "Público Vai Ao Delírio Com O Grupo Black Eyed Peas" (in Portuguese). Globo.com. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  60. ^ "Annals of Music - The Beach Boys". Pop History Dig. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  61. ^ Terrel, Antoine (October 24, 2019). "Jean-Michel Jarre sur son concert mythique place de la Concorde : "J'ai mis un an à m'en remettre"" (in French). Europe 1. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
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