The 15 Biggest Concerts of All Time
The album is great, but nothing beats the energy and passion of a live concert. People have always loved to sit and listen to other people make music. Of course, things changed with the invention of amplifiers, speakers and microphones.
Music superstars are now able to perform to larger audiences, in some venues millions, than ever before. how big is it? Lucky for you, we’ve compiled a list of the 15 greatest concerts of all time.
In this list, we’re going for the biggest and baddest concerts, no holds barred. These are the record-setters performed for masses that will go down in history as some of the greatest musical shows of all time. So, strap in.
List of the Largest Concerts Ever
1. Rod Stewart at Copacabana Beach (1994) – 4.2 million attendees
| City | Rio De Janeiro, Brazil |
| Date | December 31, 1994 |
| Number of attendees | 4.2 million |
| Artist | Rod Stewart |
| Venue | Copacabana Beach |
If speaking in a room full of people terrifies you, imagine yourself as Rod Stewart on December 31, 1994. The British rocker was scheduled to perform at a New Year’s Eve show on Rio de Janeiro’s pristine Copacabana beach. The New Year’s Eve fireworks show already had a large crowd at the venue, but the addition of the legendary rock star proved to be a record-breaking combination.
To everyone’s surprise, his New Year’s Eve concert drew over 4.2 million people, making it officially the biggest concert ever. It was also registered in the Guinness World Records.
Despite the inherent dread of hosting the world’s biggest concert on stage, Rod Stewart delivered an incredible performance that literally sent the crowd into a frenzy. It will forever be remembered as one of the greatest and greatest musical performances of all time.
If you’re curious what 4.2 million people look like, check out this footage of Copacabana Beach on New Year’s Eve 1994.
2. Jean Michel Jarre at State University of Moscow (1997) – 3.5 million attendees
| City | Moscow, Russia |
| Date | September 6, 1997 |
| Number of attendees | 3.5 million |
| Artist | Jean Michel Jarre |
| Venue | State University of Moscow |
In case you didn’t know, Moscow is a really old city. In 1997 the city celebrated its 850th anniversary as a municipality. We needed an equally meaningful performance to celebrate this momentous occasion and we found just the right one.
Jean-Michel Jarre was a French electronic music pioneer, known at the time for his stunning stage performances complete with full orchestra, lasers, fireworks and light shows. If ever there was a musician capable of producing a worthy spectacle, it was him.
Russia was still reluctant to welcome outside visitors at the time, but the mayor of Moscow contacted Mr. Jar to see if it was possible. Jarre had just completed the Oxygen tour and was ready to put on the best performance of his life.
On September 6, 1997, more than 3.5 million people gathered at the Russian State University to watch and hear the enthusiastic performance of Jean-Michel his Jarre. The show showcased everything you would expect from a virtuoso composer during the concert, including his laser show, fireworks, and even a direct satellite link to the Russian space station.
If you’re wondering what kind of show draws such a great audience, watch this video from a Moscow TV channel and you’ll find out exactly what made this show so great.
Of course, this wasn’t the first time Jean-Michel Jarre encountered a show with over a million viewers. In fact, he has broken his “greatest concert” record many times throughout his stellar career. Four of the X concerts on this list are by him. But we’ll get to that later.
3. Jorge Ben Jor at Copacabana Beach (1993) – 3 million attendees
| City | Rio De Janeiro, Brazil |
| Date | December 31, 1993 |
| Number of attendees | 3 million |
| Artist | Jorge Ben Jor |
| Venue | Copacabana Beach |
Just one year before Rod Stewart’s record-breaking performance, another musician set the record for the largest open-air concert at the same venue. This time it was Jorge Ben Jor.
Jorge Ben Jor is a Brazilian pop singer who fuses funk, rock, samba and bossa nova to create a uniquely Brazilian composition that, often with humor and satire, tells the story of the country’s hardships and the Brazilian way of life. . Since the 1960s, he has been an integral part of several Brazilian musical movements.
In 1993, Jorge his Ben his Joel was booked for a New Year’s Eve show at the famous Copacabana beach. The place was already a major tourist (and local) destination for the holiday, and city officials hoped hiring a big name artist could bring in more tourists. done.
On New Year’s Eve 1993, more than three million people gathered on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro to hear Jorge Ben play his Hol. This was the first concert to break the 3 million attendance mark, and only a handful of concerts have since done so.
4. Jean Michel Jarre at La Défense (1990) – 2.5 million attendees
| City | Paris, France |
| Date | July 14, 1990 |
| Number of attendees | 2.5 million |
| Artist | Jean Michel Jarre |
| Venue | La Défense |
The brilliant brains of Jean-Michel Jarre are at work again. This time it was 1990 in Paris, France.
Four years before his record-breaking performance at Moscow State University, Jean-Michel Jarre was preparing to perform in his native France to mark the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution (also known as Bastille Day). . Again, a historic moment like this calls for a historic feat, and he did just that.
Jarre’s free public concert on July 14, 1990 included his pyramid stage, specially designed for the square in front of La Défense, just in between the Paris skyline . In typical Jarre fashion, the stage and surrounding skyscrapers were constantly lit with lights, lasers, special effects and nearly 65 tons of firecrackers, while electronic music filled the entire city. Oh sure, there was a giant metal puppet walking around for the entire two hour show.
This amazing spectacle drew crowds from the city and surrounding areas. The number of visitors is estimated at around 2.5 million, which was a world record at the time.
Check out this video of the entire concert, as this is definitely one of those performances you have to see once to believe.
But, as mentioned above, this wasn’t the first time Jean-Michel Jarre encountered a record-breaking performance. He had already done it twice and was ready to do it again in just seven years.
5. Monsters of Rock (1991) – 1.6 million attendees
| City | Moscow, Soviet Union |
| Date | September 28, 1991 |
| Number of attendees | 1.6 million |
| Artist | AC/DC, Metallica, Pantera, The Black Crowes, E.S.T. |
| Venue | Tushino Airfield |
Rock and roll has always been a unifying force, and on September 28, 1991, several world events came together to host one of the greatest rock concerts in music history.
The Monsters of Rock Music Festival is an annual hard rock festival that brings together the world’s best heavy rock bands for spectacular concerts. The festival started in England in his 1980s and eventually spread to cities around the world, including the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and the United States.
After several years of separate festivals around the world, in 1991 the various Monsters of Rock festivals came together in the USSR for a major concert.
There were a lot of speed bumps to hold the festival together. The Soviet Union struggled to maintain control of the country and tried several times to delay the Event. But if there’s one thing he knows about hard rock fans, it’s not easy to stop them. The festival began on his September 28, 1991 at the Tushino airfield on the outskirts of Moscow.
The headliners played AC/DC, Metallica, Pantera, The Black Crowes and E.S.T. in front of a staggering crowd of 1.6 million fans, many of whom had to vent their frustrations due to political unrest. was a resident. All the anger and emotion at the airfield that day was combined with some legendary rock bands to produce an amazing performance the world will never forget. It’s not as great as being there in person, but check out this full-length video of the 1991 Monsters of Rock performance (save your goosebumps).
The Soviet Union collapsed just three months after the concert.
6. Love Parade Festival (2008) – 1.6 million attendees
| City | Dortmund, Germany |
| Date | July 19, 2008 |
| Number of attendees | 1.6 million |
| Artist | Various – Moby, Anja Schneider, Armin van Buuren, Audion, Carl Craig, DJ Hell, Dubfire, and more |
| Venue | Bundesstraße 1 highway |
Loveparade is a major electronic music festival held annually in Germany since 1989. It has had its ups and downs, but it has grown in popularity over the years. In 2008, the Love Parade reached its climax.
The Love Parade 2008 was held on a disused highway in Dortmund. Due to the location of the venue, the motto of this year’s festival was ‘Highway of Love’. The festival was actually a weekend-long parade with dozens of performers, vendors and parties across the region, drawing a whopping 1.6 million people.
Nearly all artists on Love Parade perform electronic music. The 2008 artist list included some of the world’s best electronic artists.
2 Elements
Alex Bau
Moby
Alex M.O.R.P.H.
Anja Schneider
Armin van Buuren
Audion
Dubfire
And more
Dozens of different concerts took place simultaneously over the weekend, but he’s still one of the biggest concerts ever with 1.6 million visitors. While it may not be among the biggest concerts of all time, the 2008 Love Parade holds the world record for being the largest parade ever.
Want to get a taste of what that celebration was like? Watch this video highlighting the amazing 2008 Love Parade events.
7. Live 8 Philadelphia (2005) – 1.5 million attendees
| City | Philadelphia, PA, United States |
| Date | July 2, 2005 |
| Number of attendees | 1.5 million |
| Artist | Various – Kanye West, The Black Eyed Peas, Dave Matthews Band, Will Smith, Bon Jovi, Destiny’s Child, Toby Keith, Alicia Keys, Linkin Park, Def Leppard, Sarah McLachlan, Maroon 5, Keith Urban, Rob Thomas, Stevie Wonder, and more |
| Venue | Philadelphia Museum of Art |
Live 8 is a series of global benefit concerts following the 2005 G8 Summit, aimed at raising awareness of the fight against poverty around the world. As a bonus, this day also marked his 20th anniversary from his iconic 1985 Live Aid performance.
Following in Live Aid’s footsteps, the 2005 Live 8 concert series brought together dozens of music superstars from around the world in simultaneous concerts throughout the day. The only venue in the United States was the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Live 8 Philly (as it is now known) grabbed the attention of many fans with an incredible cast set for an incredible eight hours of performances. The certificate includes:
Bon Jovi
Dave Matthews Band
Def Leppard
Linkin Park
Maroon 5
Keith Urban
Rob Thomas
Stevie Wonder
And more
Thanks to his incredible performance, the Live 8 Philadelphia concert drew more than 1.5 million fans and Benjamin Franklin down his parkway as he marched over a mile. That doesn’t even include the millions of people who watched it in front of their televisions around the world.
Since this was a globally televised event, countless videos of various performances are available online. Keith rocking on stage at Live 8 Philly Watch his urban video.
8. The Rolling Stones at Copacabana Beach (2006) – 1.5 million attendees
| City | Rio De Janeiro, Brazil |
| Date | February 18, 2006 |
| Number of attendees | 1.5 million |
| Artist | The Rolling Stones |
| Venue | Copacabana Beach |
In 2006, the Rolling Stones were off on their Bigger Bang world tour to promote their 24th studio album of the same name — which ended up being their last album with Charlie Watts on drums. You’d think after 44 years of playing together (at the time), there’s no way they could make even more of a bang than they already had. Well, they pulled it off.
On February 18, 2006, the Stones booked the legendary Copacabana Beach in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. You know, the venue that produced the most-attended concert of all time. Mix a great venue with a great band, and you get a great turnout.
More than 1.5 million fans turned out to see Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, and Charlie Watts take the stage and do what they’ve done best for over half a century. The result? One incredible show!
You can watch the entire performance in this video and see why the Brazilian crowd just couldn’t get enough satisfaction from the Rolling Stones.
9. Jean Michel Jarre at Rendez-vous Houston (1986) – 1.3 million attendees
| City | Houston, Texas, United States |
| Date | April 5, 1986 |
| Number of attendees | 1.3 million |
| Artist | Jean Michel Jarre |
| Venue | Downtown Houston |
The city of Houston, Texas was celebrating its 150th anniversary, and they needed a big performance to really showcase the city.
When you need a big performance, you turn to the one-and-only Jean Michel Jarre.
The concert was also supposed to celebrate the launch of the Challenger Space Shuttle launch, and NASA`s 25th anniversary, but after the shuttle exploded above the launch pad, it turned into a night of remembrance for those lost.
Ron McNair, an astronaut who died in the Challenger disaster and a personal friend of Jarre`s, was even supposed to play saxophone from space during the concert.
For this concert, Jean Michel Jarre had the entire city as his stage.
The event took place right in downtown Houston and was named the Rendez-vous Houston: A City in Concert.
Spotlights and fireworks shot up all over the city as the entire skyline dazzled for this incredible performance.
How many times in history has an entire city been the stage for a concert?
3 million people showed up for the incredible spectacle, which was a world record at the time.
Jarre even got his name in the Guinness Book of World Records.
The event was broadcast all over the world, making Jean Michel Jarre a bonafide mega-concert legend.
10. Paz sin Fronteras II (2009) – 1.1 million attendees
| City | Havana, Cuba |
| Date | September 20, 2009 |
| Number of attendees | 1.1 million |
| Artist | Various – Juanes (headliner) |
| Venue | Plaza de la Revolución |
In 2008, a major diplomatic crisis erupted in South America between the governments of Ecuador, Venezuela and Colombia following the incursion of Colombian forces into Ecuadorian territory after the death of Raul Reyes, number two of the Colombian Revolutionary Army.
While South American governments were at war, many of their citizens opposed the actions of their respective governments. In 2009, musician Juanes launched the song “paz sin fronteras”, which means “peace without borders”, to spread a non-violent message that all Latin and South American countries are brothers and should get along. We planned a series of free outdoor concerts titled.
The first concert was held along the border of Colombia and Venezuela, drawing about 300,000 people. Impressive as it may be, it’s nothing compared to the massive crowds at Paz Sin Fronterrace II, the second concert in the series. Paz Sin Fronteras II was held in front of Revolution Square in Cuba. Musicians from all over South America and Latin America participated, including Juanes. The free concert attracted 1.1 million people, about 10% of Cuba’s total population. Almost everyone wore white as a symbol of peace.
The concert lasted for five and a half hours. It was arguably the largest musical event ever seen on the small island of Cuba. See the excitement of the finale of this epic concert in this video.
A third Pas Sin Fronteras concert was planned for Caracas, Venezuela in 2013, but never materialized.
11. The Beach Boys Independence Day Concert (1985) – 1 million attendees
| City | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Date | July 4, 1985 |
| Number of attendees | 1 million |
| Artist | The Beach Boys (with special guests Jimmy Page, Joan Jett, Christopher Cross, Keith Knudsen, and others) |
| Venue | Philadelphia Museum of Art |
Philadelphia was one of the major sites of revolution during the American fight for independence back in 1776. Heck, that’s where the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution were signed! So it would only make sense that the city would go all-out in celebration of the 4th of July.
In 1985, the city of Philadelphia wanted to throw an epic 4th of July bash with a free concert filled with some of the biggest rock stars of the time, including Jimmy Page, Joan Jett, Christopher Cross, and others. But what could be more American than the headlining band: The Beach Boys!
The city was feeling the “good vibrations” that Independence Day because more than 1 million people showed up for the incredible event, making it one of the biggest concerts of all time.
If you want to get a feel for the energy during the performance, check out this video of The Beach Boys playing Little Richard’s song “Lucille” with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page shredding several solos.
12. Jean Michel Jarre Bastille Day (1979) – 1 million attendees
| City | Paris, France |
| Date | July 14, 1979 |
| Number of attendees | 1 million |
| Artist | Jean Michel Jarre |
| Venue | Place de la Concorde |
Even masters of outdoor mega-concerts have to start somewhere. For Jean-Michel Jarre, it started on July 14, 1979 in Paris, France.
Bastille Day is a big public holiday for the French people, and celebrating it in style required a spectacular performance. Up until this point, Jean-Michel Jarre had only played in a handful of rock bands in his youth, but he was setting a new standard for open-air concerts.
The venue was located in front of the Place de la Concorde in downtown Paris and had plenty of space for a large audience. When Jarre took the stage, it was just him and his synthesizer. But of course the show was never small.
In typical fashion, Jarre lit up the entire city (for the first time) with lasers, light shows and fireworks to captivate the crowds. A total of over 1 million people came to see the spectacular performance.
This was Jarre’s first outdoor show and the first concert to reach over one million people. Not only was this a personal record for Jarre, but the performance was also included in the Guinness World Records as the largest concert of its time.
The show was an astonishing success, capturing the attention of cities around the world and establishing Jarre as a visionary and notable figure in concert her design. Every time the city needed something great, they called on Jarl. He broke his biggest concert record three more times in his career.
For a glimpse into the show that made Jarre a legend, check out this video of the full 1979 performance.
13. Antonello Venditti (2001) – 1 million attendees
| City | Rome, Italy |
| Date | June 24, 2001 |
| Number of attendees | 1 million |
| Artist | Antonello Venditti |
| Venue | Circus Maximus |
European countries love their own football. We all know that, but the only thing they love more than soccer is watching their team win. And what could be better than winning? He won the championship three times – also known as the Scudetto. In 2001, football team Associazione Sportiva Roma (A.S. Roma) achieved the miraculous feat of winning its third Scudetto. Of course, everyone in Rome had to get excited and celebrate with a big live performance.
Antonello Venditti is an Italian singer/songwriter best known for his haunting songs that touched on countless social issues in the 1970s. As the years passed his popularity grew and he became one of the greatest Italian singers.
Roma won for the third time and, of course, called up Venditti to perform. In 2001, Venditti performed at Circus Maximus to a raucous crowd of over one million Americans. upon. Roman fan. The concert was so large that it still holds the record for the most attended free concert in Italian history.
14. The Black Eyed Peas at Copacabana Beach (2006) – 1 million attendees
| City | Kostrzyn nad Odrą, Poland |
| Date | August 3, 2019 |
| Number of attendees | 1 million |
| Artist | Prophets of Rage, Ziggy Marley (and many others) |
| Venue | Pol’And’Rock Festival |
The historic 1969 Woodstock concert has inspired countless venues and musicians over the year. But perhaps one of the most successful variations of this iconic concert is the Woodstock Festival Poland. Also known as the Polish Rock Festival.
The Polish Rock Festival was established in 1995 and has been a major annual event ever since. Artists from all over the world come together to put on dozens of spectacular performances throughout the festival. In fact, the festival’s total attendance exceeds his 750,000, making it one of the largest music festivals in the world.
In 2019, Polando Rock Festival took the ‘biggest music festival’ to a new level. Featuring incredible headliners such as Ziggy Marley and rock supergroup Prophets of Rage, nearly a million people turned out to celebrate.
Honorable Mention: Live Aid (1985) – 1.9 billion viewers
| City | London, England and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. |
| Date | July 13, 1985 |
| Number of attendees | 1.9 billion |
| Artist | Various — Queen, Sting, Phil Collins, U2, Dire Straits, David Bowie, The Who, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Joan Baez, Billy Ocean, Black Sabbath, Run-D.M.C., The Beach Boys, Santana, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Madonna, Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Hall & Oats, Bob Dylan, Mick Jaggar, and more |
| Venue | The World |
While it might not officially count as one of the largest concerts of all time in terms of attendance (since most people were just tuning in on their TVs), it`d be difficult to have a list of legendary mega-concerts without mentioning Live Aid from 1985.
” Millions of people from all over the world worked together to raise aid and awareness for those impacted.
Major music superstars took the stage in both cities, and the concerts were streamed live all over the world.
Here are just a few of the artists involved in the 1985 Live Aid concert:
- Queen
- U2
- Paul McCartney
- Black Sabbath
- Santana
- Eric Clapton
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- Bob Dylan
- And many, many more
In Wembley Stadium in London, around 72,000 people showed up to hear the acts live.
Kennedy Stadium.
9 billion people watching live from their homes all over the world certainly would!
9 billion (with a B) was the estimated viewership for the Live Aid 1985 concert. Which is around 40% of the entire Earth`s population!
If that`s not enough for at least an honorable mention on a list of the biggest concerts of all time, nothing is.
