Lebanese-Colombian superstar Shakira gave a free concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night, an event that Rio de Janeiro city officials said drew 2 million people, marking the biggest show of her career.
The performance followed similar shows by Madonna in 2024 and Lady Gaga last year, which also were attended by huge crowds that danced on the sprawling sands.
It comes as part of Shakira's "Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran," or "Women No Longer Cry," a world tour named after her 2024 album.
Shakira's kicked off the event around 11 p.m., more than an hour after the scheduled slot, to her fans screaming with excitement and frantic applause as skywriting drones flew overhead, spelling out in the sky, "I love you Brazil" in Portuguese.
The pop star spoke fondly 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," she told the crowd shortly after coming 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." She ended with "BZRP Music Sessions #53/66," which followed her separation from Spanish soccer player Gerard Piqué.
Thebmuch-loved pop star also took the time to celebrate women's resilience during the show. "Us women, every time we fall, we get up a little wiser," she said.
Rio Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere said on social media that 2 million people attended the gig. "The She-Wolf made history in Rio," he posted, referring to Shakira's 2009 hit.
When Shakira first performed in Brazil in the 1990s, she established an amazing connection with the Brazilian public.
That success in Brazil "has a lot to do with the fact that she comes from Colombia, a country whose culture has many similarities with Brazil," Felipe Maia, an ethnomusicologist pursuing a doctoral degree in popular music and digital technologies at Paris Nanterre University. said, adding that the performance "crowns the relationship she has had with Brazil for a very long time."
Crowds started piling onto the beach Saturday morning to nab a good spot for the show.
Street vendors sold sweet corn and other Brazilian snacks, bottled water and caipirinhas, the popular Brazilian cocktail, but also toilet paper, deodorant, and even bags of sand for concertgoers to stand on to get a better view of the stage set up opposite Copacabana Palace, a historic luxury hotel.
The free concerts are part of City Hall's attempt to boost economic activity 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, the mayor, 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.
Shakira's performance could generate around 777 million reais (around $155 million), according to a study by City Hall and Riotur, the municipality's tourism company, thanks to the influx of tourists and cash spent in restaurants, hotels and shops.
More tourists headed to Rio in the month of May in the years with shows — 2024 and 2025 — compared to 2023, according to City Hall data.
In 2024, the growth was 34.2% on May 1, just ahead of the concerts, compared to the previous year. In 2025, the increase was 90.5% compared to 2023.
Ahead of Shakira's performance, Airbnb said in an April 22 statement that it was seeing an increase in guests expected to travel from different parts of Brazil, Latin America, and even European capitals such as Paris and London.
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