A crowd of two million people is expected to flock to the iconic beach, where a monumental 1,345 square meter stage has been set up in front of the Copacabana Palace hotel
Thirty years after his international debut with “Pies descalzos”, Shakira will perform the biggest show of her career this Saturday (2), when it will transform Rio de Janeiro into the world capital of Latin pop, with a free megashow in Copacabana.
A crowd of two million people is expected to go to the iconic beach, where a monumental 1,345 square meter stage has been set up in front of the Copacabana Palace hotel, where the 49-year-old singer has been staying since arriving in the city last Wednesday.
The Colombian follows in Madonna’s footstepswho performed on the same beach in 2024 for 1.6 million people, and Lady Gaga, who brought together 2.1 million in 2025, according to the organizers.
Shakira has a historical relationship with Brazil, where she has performed several times since 1996.
It was precisely in Rio that, in February 2022, she launched her tour “Las mujeres ya no lloran”, the first in seven years and which has already been recognized as the highest-grossing tour by a Latin artist, according to Guinness.
A singer speaks Portuguese fluently and recently collaborated with singer Anittawho could appear on stage tonight.
To generate anticipation before the show, Shakira has published several stories on Instagram: from a video in which she packs flip-flops and a bold bikini with the colors of the Brazilian flag before traveling to Rio, to her first walk in the city with Sugarloaf Mountain in the background.
On Thursday night, she appeared in one of these publications greeting her fans gathered around the hotel from a balcony.
“The Little Ones”
For weeks now, the whole of Rio has been in “Shaki” mode. Huge posters with the singer’s face appear in various parts of the city. In Copacabana – renamed “Lobacabana” because of her nickname, “she-wolf” -, street vendors sell fans, caps, bags and even small bottles with “Shakira’s tears”, a mention of the tour’s title.
Groups of fans gathered several times on the beach for massive classes of his choreography with his characteristic hip movement.
“Everyone expects to see her in person, right? If I see her, I think I’ll hug her, want to take a photo. I think this energy involves everyone here in Copacabana,” Randeon Icaro, a 36-year-old hairdresser, on duty in front of the Copacabana Palace, along with dozens of other fans, told AFP.
“During the week, all the people come to the cup, they come to the beach, they want to see the artist and, at the same time, they want to make a mess, which is wonderful”, celebrated Nicole Ernandes, a 47-year-old DJ.
Enhanced security
With 100 million albums sold, four Grammys and 15 Latin Grammys, Shakira won over several generations of fans with hits such as “Waka Waka”, the theme for the 2010 South African World Cup, “Hips Don’t Lie” and “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53”, a song she recorded after her separation from former football player Gerard Piqué and which broke records for plays on streaming platforms.
Fans from all over Brazil and other countries, especially Latin America, came to watch the show. According to Embratur, airline reservations for this week increased by more than 80% compared to 2024.
Rio City Hall estimates that the event will inject more than 800 million reais into the city’s economy.
Authorities mobilized almost 8,000 agents, drones, facial recognition cameras and 18 inspection points with metal detectors, in the largest security device Copacabana has ever seen at its mega shows.
Last year, after Lady Gaga’s performance, the Civil Police reported having thwarted, together with the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, an attack with explosives, orchestrated by a group that spread hate speech and which targeted the LGBTQ+ community.
*AFP
