Most Massively Attended Concerts In History

A pleasant, intimate concert with a few thousand attendees is fantastic. Less ambient noise, and a feeling of being generally less crowded makes for a pleasant experience. On the other hand, how about being at a concert that has a crowd of 3.5 million?

It almost seems to defy belief that so many could be crowded into the same space, for a simple musical performance. Plus, the fact of the matter is that the numbers may well even be a bit of an exaggeration. But make no mistake, there are concerts that have claimed to have had that many fans pitch up.

Here is a look at the most attended concerts in history. Though note that there is a very big difference between free concerts, where numbers are generally a guess, and paid concerts, where numbers are recorded and factual.

Frank Sinatra, 1980

When he was at his peak, the size of his audiences defied belief, setting records on a regular basis. His Rio de Janeiro concert in 1980 attracted 175,000. That was, at the time, a pretty staggering achievement. But then again, when Blue Eyes started crooning, who could possibly resist the draw?

Vasco Rossi, 2017

Mega-popular Italian singer and songwriter Vasco Rossi, otherwise known as Il Blasco, set the record that still stands today. His concert at Parco Enzo Ferrari in Modena managed to draw a stunning paid crowd of 225,173.

But, if you’re impressed at this big numbers, wait until you see the crowd sizes that follow. Though, as already mentioned, these numbers are largely guesses, and may well be exaggerated as a means to drum up publicity.

Monsters Of Rock, 1991

The legendary Monsters Of Rock, which occurred in 1991 in Moscow, saw AC/DC, Pantera, Metallica and others perform for free. It isn’t surprising that the crowd hit an estimated 1.6 million.

Paul McCartney, 1990

Long after The Beatles had technically stopped being a thing, Paul McCartney went on to have an incredible solo career. His biggest concert by far was also held in Rio de Janeiro, but 10 years after Sinatra was shattering attendance records. In 1990, long before things like online betting NZ were a thing, McCartney managed to draw in a crowd of 184,000, which is a number that stood as the biggest ever for many years.

Rod Stewart, 1994

This record didn’t stand for long, however, and was quickly overshadowed by multiple, similar free concerts. Rod Stewart performed for free at a New Year’s bash in Rio de Janeiro, drawing in a crowd that really does defy belief. The numbers may or may not be accurate, but it was reported that around 3.5 million were in attendance.

Jean-Michel Jarre, 1997

The crown is shared by live show master Jean-Michael Jarre, who is primarily known for his incredible outdoor spectacle shows, often involving laser special effects and impressive fireworks displays. While playing in Moscow in 1997 he is also rumoured to have attracted a crowd of around 3.5 million.