Every year in the world there is a huge number of the most diverse concerts of rock, pop, rap artists. Some collect small clubs, others - thousands of stadiums. And who gathered the biggest concert in the world and what are the most large-scale concerts in the history of music in general?
The Beatles, 1965
Now it’s hard to imagine how widespread in the middle of the last century the popularity of the Beatles was. Young boys from Liverpool were at the peak of fame, and it was they who owned the world's first record for concert attendance.
In August 1965, they performed at one of New York's stadiums. 55, 000 people came to watch and listen to their idols that day. Thus, the performance of the Beatles (which, incidentally, 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, at which the performance took place, could accommodate only 50, 000 people, and came more than five thousand more! Then it was an incredibly huge number of people. For safety reasons, the artists were even delivered to the site by armored trucks so that they would not suffer in this crowd.
“Ice Zeppelin”, 1973 and 1977
Eight years after the Beatles' legendary performance, other Britons were able to break their record. The Ice Zeppelin band performed in front of more than 56, 000 people at a concert in Florida. And if the Beatles are more positioned as pop singers, then Ice Zeppelin is a fateful 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, Ice Zeppelin repeated their success: in Michigan, just over 76, 000 people came to listen to them. Then they also performed at the stadium, and the fact that only Pope John Paul II was able to gather more spectators at that very stadium a decade later is very interesting.
Jean-Michel Jarre (1979, 1986, 1988, 1997)
Not only pop and rock artists can collect full houses. The man who became the pioneer of electronic music - Jean Jarre, also succeeded with no less success. And more than once! He first spoke to a huge audience in 1979, it 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 after seven years 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 for the money to watch and listen to Jarre, a sufficient number of people came: 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 on the Sparrow Hills, his speech was organized with free entry for everyone. And there were quite a few of them - according to unofficial estimates, about 3, 500, 000 people.
Queen (1981, 1985, 1992)
There is probably no such person who would not hear about the Quinn 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, artists toured Brazil. In Sao Paulo, 131, 000 people smiled at the luck of seeing and hearing them alive. In addition, it was these British who became the first rock band to come to South America with concerts.
Their popularity grew exponentially, and already in 1985, speaking in Sydney, they gathered 2, 000, 000 people at their performance! Thus, that show went down in the history of music as the largest rock concert in the world. The Queen concert, held six months after Freddie’s death, was much less ambitious, but also worthy of mention - in memory of him and for the sake of opening an AIDS fund (it was from this terrible disease that Mercury died). 72, 000 people - this is the attendance of this performance.
Paul McCartney, 1990
The era of the Beatles ended in the seventies of the last century, but Paul McCartney did not leave the stage. He began to speak with his wife Linda, traveled not only in Britain, but also in other countries. And one of the performances was a record for him: in 1990 in Brazil, 184, 000 people were able to see with their own eyes and hear a legend-man with their own ears.
A-Ha, 1991
Exactly one year after the performance of Sir Paul McCartney, the same Brazilian stadium hosted the Norwegian rock band A-Ha. By 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 managed to beat to this day, is unanimously considered the performance of soul singer Rod Stewart, held 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.
Michael Jackson, 1996
The name of the king of pop scene Michael Jackson is known to everyone. He is still loved, and even during his lifetime, his popularity was enormous at all.
In the mid-nineties, he went on a tour of five continents, in which he visited thirty-five different countries. Then one of the biggest concerts in the world took place with his participation (in Prague) - 125, 000 people were able to see and hear him.
Garth Brooks, 1997
Garth Brooks’s free country concert, held in New York in 1997, is also one of the largest ever in history. It was held in the Central Park in the open air and gathered almost 1 million people (to be more precise, 980 000).
"U2", 1997
Great Britain is rich in talents, and those that collect stadiums. So the Irish "Yu2" were no exception. In the same 1997, they toured to other countries. We 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 came to listen to the Irish rock band.
The Rolling Stones, 2003 and 2006
The Rolling Stones does not need a special introduction. Until now, this team has thousands of fans around the world. They arranged record performances twice, and both times at the beginning of the new millennium.
In 2003, almost 500, 000 people came to Toronto to listen to them, and the concert was paid! And after three years 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, the entrance to this show, held on the beach, was free, but nonetheless, 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 record popularity 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 personally see their idols.
The biggest rap gigs in the world
Pop, rock, alternative - not only these directions are able to collect halls. Do not forget about hip-hop culture. In 2014, the concert of the legend of world rap Eminem took place in London, at a stadium with a capacity of 90, 000 people, and was the first large-scale concert for this genre.
And in Russia, the first rapper who gathered a large audience was Vasily Vakulenko, better known as Basta. Two years ago, he gathered a full house in the Moscow Olympic complex - 35, 000 fans came to listen to him. This year, two other artists of this direction managed to “take” the Olimpiysky Stadium: Oksimiron (22, 000 people) and Timati (28, 000 spectators).
