Shakira thrills a crowd of 2 million with free concert on Brazil's Copacabana beach

Shakira's set kicked off around 11 p.m., more than an hour after the scheduled slot, to her fans screaming with excitement and frantic applause as skywriting drones flew overhead, spelling out in the sky, “I love you Brazil” in Portuguese.

The megastar spoke fondly about the first time she came to Brazil, some three decades ago.

“I arrived here when I was 18 years old, dreaming about singing for you,” Shakira told the crowd shortly after coming on stage. “And now look at this. Life is magical.”

The much-loved pop star sang fan favorites such as “Hips Don’t Lie,” “La Tortura” and “La Bicicleta." She ended with “BZRP Music Sessions #53/66,” which followed her separation from Spanish soccer player Gerard Piqué.

She also took the time to celebrate women’s resilience during the show. “Us women, every time we fall we get up a little wiser,” she said.

One of the first places where Shakira became successful

Rio Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere said on X that 2 million people attended the performance. “The She-Wolf made history in Rio,” he posted, referring to Shakira's 2009 hit.

When Shakira 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 in popular music and digital technologies at Paris Nanterre University.

That success in Brazil “has a lot to do with the fact that she comes from Colombia, a country whose culture has many similarities with Brazil,” Maia said, adding that Saturday’s performance “crowns the relationship she has had with Brazil for a very long time.”

Erica Monteiro, a 38-year-old accountant, said she has listened to Shakira since childhood.

“For me she represents the strength of our Latino community,” Monteiro said ahead of the concert. “We’re treated as if we were inferior but in fact we have much more strength.”

Heading home after Saturday's show, Hellem Souza da Silva said Shakira's performance, like Bad Bunny's concerts in Sao Paulo in February, helped consolidate Brazil's Latino identity.

These artists “are making it clear that Brazil, Puerto Rico, Colombia and other countries are part of Latin America. And that America is not the United States,” she said.

Crowds started piling onto the beach Saturday morning to nab a good spot for the show. Street vendors sold sweet corn and other Brazilian snacks, bottled water and caipirinhas, the popular Brazilian cocktail, but also toilet paper, deodorant and even bags of sand for concertgoers to stand on to get a better view of the stage set up opposite Copacabana Palace, a historic luxury hotel.

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 and make about $100 in all.

Despite being tired, da Cunha was excited at the prospect of seeing Shakira live. “I remember her from when she still had black hair,” she said. “I'm a huge fan of hers.”

An effort to boost the city's post-Carnival economy

The free concerts are part of City Hall's attempt to boost economic activity after Carnival and New Year’s Eve festivities and before the monthlong Saint John’s Day celebrations in June.

“For us, parties are serious business. Because parties generate jobs, income, development, and identity for the city,” Cavaliere, the mayor, said on Wednesday as he presented the city’s operational plan for the event. “Our investment in this show will give us a financial return 40 times greater,” he said.

Shakira’s performance could generate around 777 million reais (around $155 million), according to a study by City Hall and Riotur, the municipality’s tourism company, thanks to the influx of tourists and cash spent in restaurants, hotels and shops.

More tourists headed to Rio in the month of May in the years with shows — 2024 and 2025 — 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.

Ahead of Shakira’s performance, Airbnb said in an April 22 statement that it was seeing an increase in guests expected to travel from different parts of Brazil, Latin America and even European capitals such as Paris and London.

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 planned to fly back the following day.

“I tried to get tickets to see her in Brazil last year but I didn't succeed,” said Andrade, whose first tattoo is a wolf in honor of Shakira. “Today is a dream come true.”

Follow the AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america