Updated on: May 4, 2025 / 12:03 PM EDT / CBS/AP
Police in Brazil said on Sunday that two people have been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to detonate a bomb at a free Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro.
Saturday's event drew some 2 million fans to Copacabana Beach.
Rio de Janeiro's state police said they had worked with the Justice Ministry to disrupt an attack allegedly planned by a group that was spreading hate speech against the LGBTQ community. Police said the group sought to radicalize and recruit teenagers to carry out attacks using Molotov cocktails and improvised explosives.
"The plan was treated as a 'collective challenge' with the aim of gaining notoriety on social media," the police said.
Authorities said they arrested two people in connection with the planned attack - the alleged leader of the group on illegal weapons possession charges in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, and a teenager on child pornography charges in Rio.
The concert was the biggest show of Gaga's career.
"Tonight, we're making history," Lady Gage told a screaming crowd. "Thank you for making history with me."
The Mother Monster, as she is known, kicked off the show just after 10 p.m. local time with her 2011 song "Bloody Mary." Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder to shoulder on the vast stretch of sand.
Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show, which was funded by the city of Rio in an effort to revitalize the economy. In a recent report, Rio's City Hall said the show should bring in at least 600 million reais, or roughly $106 million.
For Gaga, the performance was also an opportunity to promote her upcoming "Mayhem Ball" tour, featuring songs from her latest record MAYHEM. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 when it was released in early March and includes new hits like "Abracadabra."
Lady Gaga also performed a number of older classics at her free show Saturday, including "Poker Face" and "Alejandro," switching between an array of dresses including one with the colors of the Brazilian flag.
Some fans - many of them young - arrived on the beach at the crack of dawn to secure a good spot, armed with snacks and drinks. They spent the day under a blazing sun, while others perched in trees, determined to get a panoramic view.
"Today is the best day of my life," said Manoela Dobes, a 27-year-old designer who was wearing a dress plastered with a photograph from when she met Lady Gaga in the United States in 2019. "It's surreal to be here."
Madonna also turned Copacabana Beach 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 pop star for her first show in the country since 2012. Rio's metro employees danced to Lady Gaga