Gaga-mania grips over 1m fans amid free Rio gig

Lady Gaga was scheduled to give a free concert on Copacabana Beach Saturday night, the second such show in as many years organised by Rio de Janeiro’s City Hall.

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The show is the biggest of the pop star’s career, as it was for Madonna who also turned the expansive stretch of sand into a massive dance floor last year.

The large-scale performances are part of an effort led by City Hall to boost economic activity after Carnival and New Year's Eve festivities and the upcoming month-long Saint John’s Day celebrations in June.

“It brings activity to the city during what was previously considered the low season - filling hotels and increasing spending in bars, restaurants, and retail, generating jobs and income for the population,” said Osmar Lima, the city’s secretary of economic development, in a statement released by Rio City Hall's tourism department last month.

Similar concerts are scheduled to take place every year in May at least until 2028.

Lady Gaga arrived in Rio in the early hours of Tuesday. The city has been alive with Gaga-mania since, as it geared up to welcome the Mother Monster for her first show in the country since 2012.