Record number of spectators at the concert. The biggest concerts in the world
Performances by show business stars sometimes turn into grandiose projects worth millions of dollars. It takes months of hard work to organize such shows, but grateful fans then remember this holiday for years.
We have collected in one ten the greatest concerts in history. Among them are performances by rock stars and shows of modern pop idols.
This incredibly successful duo was distinguished by a mixture of such different styles as gospel, rock and folk. The recording of a grandiose concert in Central Park, which was attended by 500 thousand spectators, then turned into a “live” album. The concert marked the beginning of a world tour lasting a whole year.
9. Tokio Hotel concert in Paris, 2010
The concert of the German group “Welcome to the Humanoid-City” attracted more than half a million spectators. The show was held in support of the album “Humanoid”. The highlight of the show was the fact that it was held on the Eiffel Tower.
8. Isle Of Wight Festival, England, 1970
The number of participants in this festival is only slightly less than 600 thousand people. Performers included The Who, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, The Taste, Ten Years After and other musicians.
7. Summer Jam at Watkins Glen, New York, 1973
With an audience of more than 600 thousand spectators, the festival was included in the Guinness Book - at that time it was an unsurpassed success. Among the speakers were popular rock bands of those years - the Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, Dead.
6. The US Festival, 1983
This festival was funded by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. The number of viewers exceeded 600 thousand. M?tley Cr?e, Triumph, Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Scorpions performed at the festival.
5. Garth Brooks concert, New York, 1997
This free concert took place in Central Park and was attended by 980 thousand spectators. The popular country singer has sold more than 123 million albums, breaking Elvis Presley's record in 2001.
4. Concert “A World Without Borders”, Havana, 2009
The concert took place on the eve of the International Day of Peace. The show featured Juanes, Silvio Rodriguez, Miguel Bosé and other famous Latin performers. The audience of the concert exceeded 1.5 million people.
3. The Rolling Stones “A bigger bang tour”, 2005-2007
The concert tour brought the legendary group $558 million and was called one of the most successful in history. The most ambitious concert of the tour took place in Rio de Janeiro and attracted one and a half million spectators.
2. Festival “Monsters of Rock”, Moscow, Tushino, 1991
The show took place after the historic August coup. The festival was attended by AC/DC, Pantera, Metallica, Black Crowes and the Soviet metal band E.S.T. According to various estimates, the number of festival spectators amounted to 1.6 million.
1. Rod Stewart concert, Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, 1994
This concert attracted an unprecedented number of spectators - 3.5 million people. The show took place on New Year's Eve on the beach. The 49-year-old rocker performed his most famous hits to enthusiastic applause from an audience of millions.
A concert is the highest form of creative activity of a group or performer: everything that was conceived and created in the studio is tested by the most strict and biased critic - the viewer and listener. And although not everyone shares this view of concerts (for example, The Beatles, once and forever refused to perform, rightly deciding that they could not repeat their studio masterpieces on stage), it is the live concert program that is the main criterion when assessing the merits of a group or singer . But if a concert is always only one group (or two, if there is a warm-up group), then a rock festival allows you to identify the leaders of your time during a marathon, very reminiscent of a live competition. We tried to make a rating of the most popular - and therefore the most representative - rock music shows, and this is what it looks like.
1. Rod STEWART. Concert on Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, December 31, 1994, 3.5 million spectators.
No, Reading, it was not the “Monsters of Rock” or even Woodstock that attracted the maximum number of fans, but it was this concert of the “greatest white soul singer” - as Elton John called him - on New Year's Eve. More than 4 thousand Brazilian women gave birth that evening right in front of the TV, and after it ended, several tens of tons of garbage were removed from the beach. Stewart's record has stood for more than 15 years.
2. First rock festival "ROCK IN RIO", January 11-20, 1985, Rio de Janeiro, 1.5 million spectators.
It was the largest marathon of the mainstream era, which was a fusion of heavy metal, glam rock, rock and roll and pop! The main characters were Queen, Iron Maiden, Rod Stewart, AC/DC, Yes, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Scorpions, Nina Hagen, The Go-Go's and The B-52's.
3. Garth BROOKS, Concert in New York's Central Park August 7, 1997, 750 thousand spectators.
Who would have thought that country music has so many fans! However, the “cowboy rock” star, wearing a hat more than a meter in diameter, used a lasso to catch the audience from the crowd, bring them to the stage and force them to sing along. To be fair, it is worth noting that that evening not only country songs were played, but also Beatles cover versions. 
4. Rock festival "USA OPEN", Devore, California, May 28-30, 1983, 670 thousand spectators.
The event was organized by the founder of Apple Computers, Steve Wozniak, so he tried to show his enemy and competitor Bill Gates “who is the real businessman in America”! In this he was helped by the biggest stars of those years - Flock Of Seagulls, Scorpions, Motley Crue, INXS, Van Halen, U2, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder and Willie Nelson. The show turned into a financial disaster; in addition, the drunken leader of Motley Crue, Vince Neil, fell off the stage in Wozniak's expensive Mustang, nearly killing singer Stevie Nicks.
5. "SUMMER JAM SESSION" in the village of Watkins Glen in the suburbs of New York, July 28, 1973, 600,132 spectators.
For a long time, this concert at the stadium for road racing was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the most popular. And although entrance tickets were paid, the local hippie commune started a rumor that this was not so, and the excited public swept away all the cordons! The Grateful Dead, The Band and The Allman Brothers Band performed, and this is also a record for the minimum number of participants in a rock festival.
6. Rock festival "ISLE OF WHITE" on the Isle of Wight, England, August 26-30, 1970, 600 thousand spectators.
Memories of Woodstock were still fresh in our minds, which is why the 3rd annual Isle of Wight Rock Festival attracted so many fans. And also because superstars came to the show - Jimi Hendrix (this turned out to be his last public performance), Miles Davis, Leonard Cohen, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, The Doors, Jethro Tull, The Who, Ten Years After, Chicago.
7. SIMON & GARFUNKEL, Concert in New York's Central Park, September 19, 1981, 500 thousand spectators.
It was the culmination of the duo's reunion after the second breakup of their career! By that time, Simon & Garfunkel had already sold almost 100 million records; it is not surprising that the concert attracted half a million fans. The show was marred by the fact that, to the sounds of their greatest hit, “The Sound of Silence,” a gang of lustful African-Americans raped a dozen female spectators with impunity! As Paul Simon later philosophically noted, “in general, everyone tried to have their own pleasure, and some succeeded.”
8. Charity rock concert “AGAINST ATYPICAL PNEUMONIA”, July 30, 2003, Toronto, Canada, 450 thousand spectators.
The epidemic, which mainly affected Asia, had a negative impact on tourism income, and the regional authorities turned to rock stars with a request to help. The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Rush, Justin Timberlake and the classics of Canadian rock The Guess Who responded. Since the event was a charity event, the stars and spectators allowed themselves to relax, and by the end everyone was pretty drunk.
9. WOODSTOCK Rock Festival, August 15-18, 1969, Bethel, New York, 400 thousand spectators.
Volumes have been written about this epoch-making festival, and rightly so: it was in Woodstock that future stars of all times Carlos Santana, Ten Years After, Mountain, Joe Cocker, Sly & The Family Stone, The Grease Band, Quill first announced themselves. Superstar performers included Jimi Hendrix, Canned Heat, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Who and Jefferson Airplane. The main groups - The Beatles and The Rolling Stones - could not come and did not want to.
10. BLOCKBUSTER Rock Festival, June 21, 1997, Fort Worth, Texas, 385 thousand spectators.
It was the main show of alternative rock, which by that time had reached its creative apogee! The speedway show featured leading bands of the era including No Doubt, matchbox twenty, Bush, The Wallflowers, Collective Soul, Counting Crowes and Jewel. Many believe that from that moment on, the indie rock star began to gradually decline.
Based on materials from the magazine "Rovesnik", No. 11, 2010.
Celebrity concerts can attract huge crowds that fill every available space.
Place Rod Stewart Concert
In Rio in 1994, an incredible show took place, bringing together almost 4 million people who wanted to listen to hits on the eve of the New Year holidays. In honor of the New Year, the most favorite compositions were slightly changed and performed on the beach to the delight of the public.
Jean-Michel Jarre
The Moscow concert on September 6, 1997 attracted a crowd of 3.4 million. At that time, people were not spoiled by foreign performers. Thanks to the magnitude of his concerts, Jean-Michel Jarre managed to set a record listed in the Guinness Book 4 times.
Two million flocked to Sydney in 1985 when the band visited the city on tour. A total of 4 concerts were given, the second show being the most numerous. Live video of the event is still popular to watch.
Monsters of Rock Festival
The rock festival on September 28, 1991 went down in history as having attracted 1.5 million people. There were many stars at the concert, including: AC/DC, Metallica, The Black Crowes, Pantera.
Peace without Border Festival
The capital's Revolution Square was filled as never before in Havana on September 20, 2009. Approximately 1.5 million came to support peace in Central America. This area is one of the largest in the world, so everyone managed to fit in.
The Rolling Stones
In February 2006, a huge stage was erected on the territory of Rio De Janeiro (Copacobana beach). The amount of equipment for sound and lighting was amazing; it weighed about 70 tons. 1.3 million people came to the free concert to enjoy the works of the performers.
Garth Brooks
In New York on August 7, 1997, almost a million people gathered to attend the legendary event. Then Brooks' album instantly hit the first line of the national charts.
Summer Jam at Watkins Glen
New York again, summer 1973, at that time the pop concert became the largest in the world and was included in the Guinness Book of Records. A race track was chosen as the location.
Every year, a huge number of different concerts of rock, pop, and rap performers take place around the world. Some gather small clubs, others gather stadiums with thousands of people. Who put together the biggest concert in the world and what are the biggest concerts in the history of music?
The Beatles, 1965
It’s hard to imagine now how big the Beatles were in the middle of the last century. The young boys from Liverpool were at the height of their fame, and it was they who held the world's first record for attendance at a concert.
In August 1965, they performed at one of the New York stadiums. 55,000 people came to see and listen to their idols that day. Thus, the Beatles' performance (which, by the way, lasted only half an hour - then it was considered normal) became the first of the largest concerts in the world. The stadium itself, by the way, where the performance took place, could only accommodate 50,000 people, but more than five thousand more came! It was an incredibly huge number of people back then. For safety reasons, the artists were even transported to the site in armored trucks so that they would not get hurt in this crowd of people.
Led Zeppelin, 1973 and 1977
Eight years after the Beatles' legendary performance, other Britons were able to break their record. Led Zeppelin performed in front of more than 56,000 people at a concert in Florida. And if the Beatles are positioned more as pop performers, then Led Zeppelin is a rock ensemble. Moreover, they were the founders of hard rock. So their concert was not only large-scale in itself, but also the first major concert in the history of music of this kind.
Four years later, Led Zeppelin repeated their success: just over 76,000 people came to listen to them in Michigan. They also performed at the stadium then, and it is quite interesting that only the Pope was able to attract a larger crowd to that same stadium a decade later.
Jean-Michel Jarre (1979, 1986, 1988, 1997)
It's not just pop and rock performers who can sell out shows. The man who became the pioneer of electronic music, Jean Jarre, also succeeded with no less success. And more than once! He first performed in front of a huge audience in 1979, this happened in Paris. Then 1,000,000 people came to his concert, and Jarre even got into the Guinness Book of Records. He repeated his own success seven years later in exactly the same place, and this time the number of viewers slightly exceeded 1,000,000.
Both of these concerts, however, were free. But a sufficient number of people came to see and listen to Jarre for money: for example, more than 180,000 Britons in 1988 in London. And almost ten years later, Jean Jarre visited the Russian capital in honor of its 850th anniversary. Then his performance was organized on Vorobyovy Gory with free entry for everyone. And there were quite a lot of them - according to unofficial estimates, about 3,500,000 people.
"Queen" (1981, 1985, 1992)
There is probably no person who has not heard of the Queen group and its frontman, the legendary Freddie Mercury. Thousands of fans around the world dreamed of coming to their performance, and some were lucky. In 1981 in Brazil. In Sao Paulo, 131,000 people were lucky enough to see and hear them live. In addition, it was these British who became the first rock band to come with concerts to South American countries.
Their popularity grew exponentially, and already in 1985, performing in Sydney, they gathered 2,000,000 people at their performance! Thus, that show went down as the biggest rock concert in the world. Much smaller-scale, but also worthy of mention, was the Queen concert, held six months after Freddie’s death, in memory of him and for the opening of a fund to fight AIDS (Mercury died from this terrible disease). 72,000 people - this is the attendance of this performance.
Paul McCartney, 1990
The era of the Beatles ended back in the seventies of the last century, but Paul McCartney never left the stage. He began performing with his wife Linda, traveling not only around Britain, but also in other countries. And one of his performances became a record for him: in 1990 in Brazil, 184,000 people were able to see with their own eyes and hear with their own ears the legendary man.
"A-Ha", 1991
Exactly one year after Sir Paul McCartney's performance, the same Brazilian stadium hosted the Norwegian rock band A-Ha. By an incredible coincidence, it was there that the artists set their personal record for attendance at their concerts - 194,000 people, ten more than Paul McCartney.
Rod Stewart, 1994
The largest concert in the world, the record of which no one has been able to break to this day, is unanimously considered to be the performance of soul singer Rod Stewart, which took place on the last day of 1994 in Rio de Janeiro.
There is no exact data on the number of people who came to listen to the musician, but, according to various sources, it ranges from 3,500,000 to 4,000,000 people.
Michael Jackson, 1996
The name of the king of the pop scene, Michael Jackson, is known to everyone. They still love him, and during his lifetime his popularity was enormous.
In the mid-nineties, he toured five continents, during which he visited thirty-five different countries. At the same time, one of the largest concerts in the world with his participation took place (in Prague) - 125,000 people were able to see and hear him.
Garth Brooks, 1997
The free concert of country singer Garth Brooks, held in New York in 1997, is also one of the largest in history. It was held outdoors in Central Park and attracted almost 1,000,000 people (980,000 to be exact).
"Yu2", 1997
Great Britain is rich in talent, and the kind that fills stadiums. The Irish “U2” were no exception. Also in 1997, they toured other countries. We also stopped in Italy, and it was there, in the small town of Reggio Emilia, that their largest performance took place. Of the 167,000 residents, 150,000 people came to listen to the Irish rock band.
Rolling Stones, 2003 and 2006
The Rolling Stones don't need any special introduction. Until now, this group has thousands of fans around the world. They staged record-breaking performances twice, both times at the beginning of the new millennium.
In 2003, almost 500,000 people came to listen to them in Toronto, and the concert was paid! And three years later, in Rio de Janeiro, more than 1,000,000 spectators gathered to see and hear the live performance of the legends of the world stage. However, admission to this show, held on the beach, was free, but nevertheless, this performance belongs to the largest concerts in the world.
"Tokyo Hotel", 2010
Ten years ago, the German alternative group Tokyo Hotel, which consisted of very young boys, broke popularity records and was at the very top of the ratings. A huge number of people came to their concerts. So in 2010 in Paris, exactly 500,000 spectators were able to see their idols with their own eyes.
The biggest rap concerts in the world
Pop, rock, alternative - not only these trends are capable of filling the halls. Don't forget about hip-hop culture. In 2014, the concert of world rap legend Eminem took place in London, in a stadium with a capacity of 90,000 people, and became the first large-scale concert for this genre.
And in Russia, the first rapper to gather a large audience was Vasily Vakulenko, better known as Basta. Two years ago, he sold out the Moscow Olympic complex - 35,000 fans came to listen to him. This year, two more artists of this genre managed to “take” the Olympic Stadium: Oksimiron (22,000 people) and Timati (28,000 spectators).
Festivals
Various large-scale festivals with free entry are also among the largest concerts in the world. Of course, it is problematic to establish the exact number of spectators, but at least an approximate one is possible. For example, Afton Down attracted 600,000 people in 1970, while a similar pop event in New York three years later attracted 620,000.
And in September 1991, more than 1,500,000 people, according to the most conservative estimates, gathered in Moscow at the Monsters of Rock festival, which was attended by such stars of the world stage as Metallica, AC/DC and many others.
New artists in a variety of genres appear on the world stage every now and then. The popularity of many of them is very high, which means there is a fairly high probability that one of the new stars will be able to repeat the record of the performers mentioned above. Wait and see!
The first record for the number of spectators at a concert was set by The Beatles - their half-hour show, held on August 15, 1965 at New York's Shea Stadium, was attended by 55,600 people.
Which performances by musicians have received the status of the largest concerts of our time?
10th place – Tokio Hotel
City: Parisdate: 14.04.2010
Spectators: 500 thousand
The final concert of the world tour in support of the new album of the young alternative band Tokio Hotel took place in Paris, at the very foot of the Eiffel Tower, and attracted 500 thousand spectators, which allowed the show to reach the last line of our rating. “Welcome to Humanoid City,” the posters said, and the same inscription adorned the tickets.
9th place – festival “Isle of White”
City: Afton Downdate: 26.08 – 30.08.1970
Spectators: 600 thousand
The third show on the Isle of Wight was remembered by 600 thousand people for the performance of the legendary The Who, The Doors, Redbone and Jimi Hendrix, for whom this concert was the last in the UK. And exactly a year ago he performed at the Woodstock festival, playing a snow-white Stratocaster, which was later recognized as almost the most expensive guitar in history.
Jimi Hendrix, "Isle of White", 1970
8th place – festival “Summer Jam at Watkins Glen”
City: NYdate: 28.07.1973
Spectators: 620 thousand
At one time, this festival even entered the Guinness Book of Records as “a pop concert with the largest number of spectators.” The concert took place at New York's Watkins Glen International Speedway and was headlined by the Grateful Dead and Duane Allman Brothers Band.
7th place – Garth Brooks
City: NYdate: 07.08.1997
Spectators: 980 thousand
Nearly a million New Yorkers flocked to Central Park to see country music legend Garth Brooks perform for free in August 1997. The show was organized in support of the musician’s new studio album (“Sevens”), which, thanks to such successful advertising, debuted at number one on the national Billboards chart and soon received the status of a “diamond” record.
6th place – The Rolling Stones
City: Rio de Janeirodate: 18.02.2006
Spectators: 1.3 million
At the beginning of 2006, the unforgettable Mick Jagger and Keith Richards gave a grand concert on Copacabana beach. The numbers are impressive: the stage dimensions were 60x22x20 meters, and sound equipment and special effects equipment weighing a total of 70 tons were delivered by a separate aircraft. And - most importantly - admission to the show was free!
Preparing for the Rolling Stones concert in Copacabana
5th place – festival “Peace without Border”
City: Havanadate: 20.09.2009
Spectators: 1.5 million
Hundreds of thousands of Cubans and guests of the island filled the capital's Revolution Square in support of peace in Central America. It’s good that this place is one of the largest squares in the world, otherwise all the spectators simply would not fit.
4th place – “Monsters of Rock” festival
City: Moscowdate: 28.09.1991
Spectators: 1.6 million
The rock festival, which took place literally a month after the August putsch, was attended by heavy music stars such as Metallica, AC/DC, Pantera, and The Black Crowes. It is not surprising that the spectators, unspoiled by events of this kind, broke all previous records of the stadium in Tushino - according to estimates, the peak number of visitors exceeded one and a half million. By the way, the domestic rock scene was represented by the group “Electro Convulsive Therapy” - E.S.T.
"Monsters of Rock" in Tushino
3rd place – Queen
City: Sydneydate: 26.04.1985
Spectators: 2 million
In 1985, as part of The Worls Tour, Freddie Mercury and the band gave 4 concerts in Sydney. Of these, the record was broken by the second show, which brought together about two million fans of Queen’s work. The recording of the concert in Sydney became one of the most spectacular live videos of the group.
2nd place – Jean Michel Jarre
City: Moscowdate: 06.09.1997
Spectators: 3.4 million
