Aerial view of the crowd during a giant Lady Gaga concert on Copacabana Beach, in Rio de Janeiro, on May 3, 2025. (Daniel Ramalho/AFP.)
A bomb attack was thwarted during a mega concert by star Lady Gaga in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, and two people suspected of being involved have been arrested, authorities announced Sunday.
About two million people swarmed the iconic Copacabana beach into the early hours to listen to the American diva, according to city officials, under the watch of an impressive security deployment.
The civil police of Rio de Janeiro announced in a statement that, in collaboration with the Justice Ministry, they had “prevented a bomb attack that was supposed to occur during Lady Gaga's show at Copacabana.” The attempted attack had been orchestrated by a group that “spread hate speech” and promoted the radicalization of adolescents and self-harm on digital platforms, according to police. The assailants designed this plan as a “collective challenge” to gain notoriety on social media, said the police. The project targeted children, adolescents, and the LGBTQ+ community, a group strongly represented among the hundreds of thousands of Lady Gaga fans in Rio. The “leader of the group” and “responsible for the plan” was arrested in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (south) while illegally carrying a firearm. A teenager is also in custody in Rio de Janeiro. As part of Operation “Fake Monster,” police conducted 13 searches in several cities in the state of Rio de Janeiro, as well as in São Paulo (southeast), Rio Grande do Sul, and Mato Grosso (west). They had previously given the figure of 15. “Those involved recruited participants to promote attacks using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails,” the police further stated.
“Sick with fear”
The American singer posted on X after these revelations a message that does not mention the thwarted attack: “Your heart shines so much, your culture is so vibrant and special, I hope you know how grateful I am to have shared this historic moment with you.” Her fans, affectionately called “little monsters,” took to social media to express their relief at the police's reaction. “Thank god. This would have shocked more than two million people,” said the LadyGagaFansTogether account on Instagram. Another fan reacted: “I am literally sick with fear for her (Lady Gaga) safety.” “The police acted quietly and without creating panic ... We acted surgically to ensure the crime did not happen,” explained Felipe Curi, a Rio civil police official, as cited in a note from the institution.
City authorities, who also hope for economic benefits exceeding $100 million, aim to establish this tradition of the free mega-concert in May to boost tourism during a period considered the low season.
Lady Gaga kicked off the evening, perched more than six feet above the stage in a scarlet dress, singing her 2011 hit “Bloody Mary” to a delirious crowd. The American pop diva, who hadn't performed in Brazil since a tour in 2012, followed with “Abracadabra,” one of the main tracks from her latest album, “Mayhem,” released in March. Mid-song, Lady Gaga removed her red dress to reveal another one in the colors of the Brazilian flag.