Madonna's fans have hailed her as the true Queen of Pop after she performed the biggest concert of her career.
Last night the 65-year-old took to the stage in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, taking over the famous Copacabana beach for a free gig attended by an estimaed 1.6 million fans. The two-hour show, which marked the end of her 81-date Celebrations tour, saw her perform her greatest hits such as Like A Prayer, Vogue, Hung Up, Into The Groove and Like A Virgin.
As she took to the stage at 10:37pm - almost 50 minutes later than scheduled - she pointed at the Christ the Redeemer statue and said: "Here we are in the most beautiful place in the world."
During the show, the sky was filled with helicopters and drones, and the sea lit up with yachts who had mooreed offshore to hear her perform. Some fans had spent days geting a good position to see their idol up close.
Ana Beatriz Soares told the AP that Madonna has made her mark across the decades. She said: “Madonna had to run so that today’s pop artists could walk. That’s why she’s important, because she serves as an inspiration for today’s pop divas. And that’s 40 years ago. Not 40 days, 40 months. It’s 40 years."
Many fans came dressed in some of Madge's iconic outfits. Rosemary de Oliveira Bohrer, 69, wore a version of Madonna's iconic gold cone bra to the show. She said: "Since Madonna arrived here, I've been coming every day with this outfit to welcome my idol, my diva, my pop queen."
The city was buzzing with anticipation for the Saturday night spectacular, with spectators flying in from acrros the world. Airbnb said it had had bookings from fans across Brazil, Argentina and France, and a spokesperson from Rio's City Hall said that an extra 170 flights were forecasted between May 1-6 from 27 destinations.
Rio is regarded as one of the most violent and dangerous cities in the world, so to keep fans safe, there was a presence of 3,200 military personnel and 1,500 civilian police officers on standby. The security measures echo the ones taken on New Year's Eve, and for other similar performances by Rod Stewart and The Rolling Stones.
In the days leading up to the event, the Brazilian Navy inspected the vessels that wished to drop anchor offshore for passengers to watch the show. More fans were hanging from apartment and hotel balconies, watching down on the show and the hoardes of attendees.
The massive gig is believed to have earned the local economy about 293 million reals (£46m).
Until last night, Madonna's biggest ever gig had been in 1987 when she performed to 130,000 people at Paris’ Parc des Sceaux.
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