'Gaga is life': superstar's free concert draws 2 million fans to Copacabana

More than 2 million people packed Copacabana beach on Saturday night for a free Lady Gaga concert, breaking a Rio de Janeiro record set last year by Madonna.

- Constance Malleret

An estimated 2.1 million "Little Monsters" - as Lady Gaga's fans are known - turned Rio's beachside neighbourhood into "Gagacabana" for the largest show of the pop star's career. The turnout topped Madonna's free mega-show last year, which drew 1.6 million to the city's shores.

It was a moment of unadulterated joy for Brazil's particularly dedicated fans, many of whom are too young to have seen Gaga during her last performance in the country 13 years ago. Anticipation was even higher as Gaga had cancelled a planned appearance in 2017 for medical reasons.

"She came," the ecstatic crowd chanted as Gaga appeared on stage shortly after 10pm local time. The staunchest monstrinhos arrived before dawn and spent the day under the blazing sunshine to secure a spot near the stage.

"I've been waiting for this for 15 years," said Ana Clara Salomão, a 26-year-old designer from São Paulo and self-professed Little Monster since the age of 11.

"There are no words to describe my levels of excitement, the joy that this is. It's surreal," she added.

People poured into Rio from all over South America for the show, one of a series of promotional concerts the pop star is putting on before her next tour, The Mayhem Ball.