When Rod Stewart made history with the biggest concert of all time

30 April 2025, 10:24

3.5 million people? 4.2 million people? The time Rod Stewart played to a LOT of people.

Rod Stewart has said that while he doesn't plan to quit playing live any time soon, he's going to leave those big old arena tours behind him.

That means you'll likely be able to see Sir Rod up close and personal the next time he goes out on the road, but that's certainly not because he has any problem with playing larger concerts.

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Not only will he be drawing massive crowds when he plays the Legends Slot at Glastonbury, but Rod Stewart also has the record for playing the biggest concert of ALL TIME.

Rod played to over 3.5 MILLION people (and some say as many as 4.2 million) at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil on December 31, 1994 (into January 1, 1995).

The hazy number comes from the fact that it was a free concert, so no-one totted up the ticket stubs or clicks through the turnstiles.

So the reported crowd size was measured by looking at aerial imagery and measuring the crowd density, before combining those numbers with reports from local police and concert planners.

When it comes to "Rod's concert", the truth is that you didn't really have 4.2 million people staring intently at the stage for an hour and a half.

Sir Rod's stunning set was the centrepiece of the New Year's Eve celebrations in Rio, and there will have been plenty of people "in attendance" just for the fireworks (100 tonnes and 13 solid minutes of them) and wider festivities.

But if you're in the realms of ticketless free shows, then frankly they all count.

The gig didn't go without a hitch. While Sir Rod finished with a stonking version of 'Sailing', he didn't return for an expected encore, with local press reporting that he left the show suddenly and had to receive some oxygen.

Sir Rod blamed exhaustion after too much Brazilian food and playing too much footy that morning. But looking at the setlist and the performance he put in, we don't blame him for needing a bit of rest and relaxation after all that.

Rod Stewart - Live At Copacabana Beach, Rio De Janeiro Brasil 31-dec-1994

Rod Stewart's full setlist at that fateful concert on Copacabana Beach was as follows:

1. Hot Legs
2. Having a Party
3. Infatuation
4. Maggie May
5. Baby Jane
6. Passion
7. You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)
8. I Don't Want to Talk About It
9. Sweet Little Rock & Roller
10. Stay With Me
11. Downtown Train
12. People Get Ready
13. Have I Told You Lately
14. The Motown Song
15. Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?
16. Twistin' the Night Away
17. Sailing

Other gigs that are in the frame for the "biggest ever" (at least at the time that they happen), are those that were fully ticketed events with a much more accurate handle on the number of people who turned up.

At the top of the list is Italian singer-songwriter Vasco Rossi, wh played to 225,173 people at Parco Enzo Ferrari in Modena 2017.

In second place is the Yugoslav rock band Bijelo Dugme who played to 220,000 people at the Belgrade Hippodrome in 2005. Then comes Japanese rockers Glay, who played to 200,000 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba in 1999.

The record for the biggest ticketed show from English-singing artists was set three times in the decade from 1980 to 1990.

All three shows took place at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, the same city where Rod set his own record.

Frank Sinatra played to 175,000 people on January 26, 1980. Tina Turner entertained 180,000 on January 16, 1988, and Paul McCartney played to a whopping 184,000 on April 20, 1990.

As terraces have been replaced by seating over the years, Sir Paul's record won't be beaten at the Maracanã at least.