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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) \u2014 Colombian superstar Shakira<\/a><\/span> will give a free concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro<\/a><\/span> on Saturday night in an event that Brazilian officials expect to draw some 2 million people to one of the world\u2019s most iconic waterfronts.<\/p>\n The performance follows similar shows by Madonna in 2024<\/a><\/span> and Lady Gaga<\/a><\/span> last year \u2014 also attended by huge crowds that danced on the sprawling sands. For Shakira, it\u2019s part of her ” Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran<\/a><\/span>,\u201d or \u201cWomen No Longer Cry,\u201d world tour, named after her 2024 album.<\/p>\n The Latina pop star said in an interview with Brazil\u2019s TV Globo that she expects the Copacabana concert to be the biggest of her career.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me it\u2019s a dream. I always dreamed of singing on this beach, because I think it\u2019s a magical place,\u201d she said in Portuguese, adding that she learned the language before English.<\/p>\n When she first performed in Brazil in the 1990s, she established an amazing connection with the Brazilian public, according to Felipe Maia, an ethnomusicologist pursuing a doctoral degree on popular music and digital technologies at Paris Nanterre University.<\/p>\n That success in Brazil \u201chas a lot to do with the fact that she comes from Colombia, a country whose culture has many similarities with Brazil,\u201d Maia said, adding that Saturday\u2019s performance \u201ccrowns the relationship she has had with Brazil for a very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n Erica Monteiro, a 38-year-old accountant, said she has listened to Shakira since childhood. <\/p>\n \u201cFor me she represents the strength of our Latino community,\u201d Monteiro said ahead of the concert. \u201cWe\u2019re treated as if we were inferior but in fact we have much more strength.\u201d<\/p>\n By Saturday morning, crowds had started piling onto the beach to nab a good spot for the show. Street vendors sold sweetcorn and other Brazilian snacks, bottled water and caipirinhas, the popular Brazilian cocktail \u2014 but also toilet paper, deodorant and even bags of sand for concert goers to stand on to get a better view of the stage set up opposite Copacabana Palace, a historic luxury hotel.<\/p>\n Street vendor Simone Paula da Cunha arrived on the beach on Friday evening, hoping to sell all the beer and water bottles she had bought ahead of the show \u2014 and make about $100 in all. <\/p>\n Despite her evident fatigue, da Cunha was excited at the prospect of seeing Shakira live. \u201cI remember her from when she still had black hair,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m a huge fan of hers.\u201d<\/p>\n DJs were slated to start performing on the beach in the late afternoon. Shakira\u2019s set is scheduled for 9:45 p.m. local time and is expected to last around two hours. After the performance, another DJ will take to the stage \u2014 a new addition to keep the crowds entertained and help with an orderly exit, according to city officials.<\/p>\n The free concerts are part of City Hall\u2019s attempt to boost economic activity after Carnival and New Years\u2019 Eve festivities and before the monthlong Saint John\u2019s Day celebrations in June.<\/p>\n \u201cFor us, parties are serious business. Because parties generate jobs, income, development, and identity for the city,\u201d Rio Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere said on Wednesday as he presented the city\u2019s operational plan for the event. \u201cOur investment in this show will give us a financial return 40 times greater,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Shakira\u2019s performance could generate around 777 million reais (around $155 million), according to a study by City Hall and Riotur, the municipality\u2019s tourism company, thanks to the influx of tourists and cash spent in restaurants, hotels and shops.<\/p>\n More tourists headed to Rio in the month of May in the years with shows \u2014 2024 and 2025 \u2014 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.<\/p>\n Ahead of Shakira\u2019s performance, Airbnb said in an April 22 statement that it was seeing an increase in guests expected to travel from different parts of Brazil<\/a><\/span>, Latin America and even European capitals such as Paris and London.<\/p>\n Wanderson Andrade, a 30-year old architect, said he flew in especially for the show from the city of Goiana in central Brazil on Saturday and will fly back the following day. <\/p>\n \u201cI tried to get tickets to see her in Brazil last year but I didn\u2019t succeed,\u201d said Andrade, who\u2019s first-ever tattoo is a wolf in honor of Shakira. \u201cToday is a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Follow AP\u2019s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/latin-america<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nOne of the first places where Shakira became successful<\/h2>\n
An effort to boost the city\u2019s post-Carnival economy<\/h2>\n