A concert is a collective experience — a moment when thousands, sometimes millions of people come together to see the same artist, sing the same chorus, and feel the same chills at the same time.
But how big can a concert really get? Sometimes it grows into something far greater than planned: a cultural phenomenon, a record-breaking sea of people, a historic moment that reaches beyond the stage.
Here are the 10 biggest concerts of all time, ranked by estimated number of attendees.
1. Rod Stewart — Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro (December 31, 1994)
- Attendance: 3.5 million
- Occasion: Free New Year’s Eve concert on the beach
Rod Stewart rang in 1995 with the largest free pop concert in history, drawing an estimated 3.5 million people — a Guinness World Record.
2. Jean-Michel Jarre — Moscow (September 6, 1997)
- Attendance: 3.5 million
- Occasion: 850th anniversary of Moscow
With lasers, projections on the Kremlin, and sound that echoed across the city, Jarre drew as many people as Stewart, cementing his status as the king of mass concerts.
3. Jorge Ben Jor — Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro (1993)
- Attendance: 3.0 million
- Occasion: Cultural beach festival
Jorge Ben Jor’s blend of samba, funk, and rock drew an estimated three million fans to Copacabana Beach.
4. Jean-Michel Jarre — Paris (July 14, 1990)
- Attendance: 2.5 million
- Occasion: Bastille Day (French National Day)
Set against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower at the Champ de Mars, Jarre’s Bastille Day performance drew over 2.5 million people — a visual and musical spectacle that lit up the Paris skyline.
5. Lady Gaga — Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro (May 3, 2025)
- Attendance: over 2.0 million
- Occasion: Free ‘Mayhem’ tour show on the beach
On May 3, 2025, Lady Gaga attracted more than two million fans to Copacabana for her free ‘Mayhem’ tour performance — the largest concert ever held by a female artist.
6. The Rolling Stones — Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro (February 18, 2006)
- Attendance: 1.5 million
- Occasion: Free beach concert during the “A Bigger Bang” tour
With “Satisfaction” and “Start Me Up,” the Stones rocked the beach for 1.5 million fans — from teenagers to grandpas in Stones shirts — in one of the largest rock shows ever.
7. Love Parade — Berlin (1999)
- Attendance: 1.5 million
- Occasion: Electronic dance parade through the city
This edition of the Love Parade broke all records: more than a million dancers and ravers filled the streets and the area around the Reichstag in the spirit of love, peace, and techno.
8. Diana Ross — Central Park, New York (July 19–20, 1983)
- Attendance: 800,000
- Occasion: Free two-day concert in the park
Despite stormy weather, Diana Ross continued performing for nearly a million people over two days — an unmatched combination of music and resilience.
9. Garth Brooks — Central Park, New York (September 7, 1997)
- Estimated attendance: approx. 1,000,000 (promoters) / 300,000 (NYC official count)
- Occasion: Free live concert broadcast on MTV and CMT
Though estimates vary, Brooks’ country extravaganza in Central Park was one of the largest unticketed solo events in U.S. history.
10. Monsters of Rock — Moscow (September 28, 1991)
- Attendance: 500,000
- Occasion: Free metal festival with AC/DC, Metallica, and Pantera
In the wake of Soviet perestroika, half a million metalheads filled a military airfield in Moscow for what became one of the biggest open-air rock festivals of all time.
