Top 10 largest concerts in history
- 77 Comments
- May 9, 2010
- music, top list
10. Blockbuster RockFest 1997 [385,000] was a music event that celebrated capital punishment. It was held on Texas Motor Speedway with hot artists like No Doubt, Counting Crows and Matchbox Twenty.
9. Woodstock 1969 [400,000] was the pop culture event of that decade that had a big influence on both American music and culture. Legendary artists like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Santana and the Who was only a few of many others that performed. The audience, that were mostly hippies, sent a message to the world that everyone could gather together to enjoy music and celebrate peace.
8. Toronto SARS Benefit 2003 [450,000+]. The disease SARS that attacked Asia and Toronto in Canada was the reason for this benefit concert. Rolling Stones, AC/DC and Justin Timberlake were some of the artists that supported by performing.
7. Simon & Garfunkel [500,000] held their second reunion concert in Central Park in 1981. It was a free concert that was televised by HBO.
6. Isle of Wight Festival [600,000] was the biggest concert ever held in UK. The Who, The Doors and Leonard Cohen were some of the performing artists, and Jimi Hendrix had unfortunately his last performance on this event. All the tickets were sold out the first day.
5. Summer Jam at Watkins Glen [600,000+]. A huge hippy concert held at the Grand Prix auto circuit in Watkins Glen, New York, with bands like The Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers.
4. Steve Wozniak’s 1983 US Festival [670,000] was a culture festival sponsored by one of the co-founders of Apple Computers, Steve Wozniak. It was held in California with great performers like Motley Crue, U2 and David Bowie.
3. Garth Brooks in Central Park [750,000] was a great country concert with excited and cheering “cowboys” in the audience. Brooks performed classics as “Friends in Low Places”, and “The Dance”.
2. New York Philharmonic in Central Park 1986 [800,000]. The largest classical concert that celebrated the rededication of the Statue of Liberty.
1. Rod Stewart at Copacabana Beach 1994 [3,500,000]. A New Years celebration featuring Rod Stewart with the largest concert crowd ever. The wonderful Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil was overcrowed with singing and celebrating audience.
Comments
I bet you never heard of the polish “Przystanek Woodstock”(between 300.000 and a million visitors every year) or the hungarian “sziget”(about 400.000 visitors every year)…
embarassing…
Where is Monsters of Rock ’91 in Moscow?
What about Live 8/Live Aid?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Michel_Jarre#cite_note-keystosuccess-58
On 6 September that year the Moscow State University became the backdrop for a spectacular display of image projections, skytrackers and fireworks. The event, celebrating the 850th anniversary of Moscow, was viewed by an audience of about 3.5 million, Jarre’s fourth record for the largest ever outdoor concert audience.
Piwo, I’ve just wanted to post it too
missed out Rolling Stones in Brazil which drew over a million people: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4725050.stm
how about love parade?
What about Tushino Airfield in 1991? 1,000,000+ metalheads can to that one
dude, rolling stones in brazil… 1 million c’mon
hmm.. Pantera, ACDC & Metallica 1991 Moscow. Over 1.5 million.
Jean Michel Jarre has at least 2 positions there.C’mon, you should have been more informed
Rammstein playd if front of a 2 million people crowd on “Live aus Berlin” concert in ’98 according to: http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Rammstein
I feel like the festivals and single artist shows should be separated. It’s just really hard to compare a whole bill of artists with a single act.
Missed JMJ’s record breakers in Russia, Paris and Houston, TX.
What about rock in rio, iron maiden joined 1 million people
Where´s MONSTER OF ROCK with 1,5 million people???????? WTF
the first in my lovely nation!! BRASIL!
What do you mean?
love parade 2010 !!!! 1 400 000 ppl , 21 deaths , 500 injured
iron maiden,rush,the rolling stones,and page and plant played to 1 million people in brazil!!!
What about Altimont in Cali, 1969. Not everyone who attended was able to leave alive. =) Gotta love Sonny and his Angels.
Monsters of Rock ’91 in Moscow was the biggest concert of all time.
love parade isnt a concert..
Check your facts everyone and the Guiness Book of Records. Jean michel Jarre dwarfs them all with having the largest gathering of people in history in one place for any event (in this case for a rock concert in Moscow, Paris and Houston respectively, of course), other than for the purposes of war. The world does not consist only of performers of US nationality or those from English speaking backgrounds.
Where is Live Aid 1985? performed simultaneously in London in Wembley Stadium and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia
michael jackson did the biggest shows
Monster’s of Rock ’91 like 2 million people, with Pantera and Metallica
what!!? The no. 1 is not genuine, because it was at the same time with New Year’s Eve. They should state it more clearly, THE LARGEST AND MOST ROCKING CONCERT EVER. Because I bet during Rod’s concert, people just gather and mostly for New year’s event. Only rock and metal concert where people attend TO ROCK THE CONCERT OUT.
Madonna in Poland- 750 000.
Jean Michel Jarre’s concerts in Moscow and Paris La Defense? Seriously???
i dont care, woodstock should be number 1, PEOPLE WERE BORN AT WOODSTOCK…
i like how metallica had 2.5mill. people in moscow in 1991 and there not up there lol
In France Tokio Hotel performed for 500 000 people
You know, there is nothing outside the US
Why couldn’t you put the *YEAR* on each item in the list????
I am so proud of your viewpoint about the world largest concert and the largest audience ever,but,just remember that nobody breaked yet Jarre’s record in Moscow,the event was viewed by an audience of 3,5 millions people,it’s still no.1 in Guinness World Records Book,please,be more informed,this is the fourth Jarre’s record,1st was in Place de la Concorde(14 July 1979),attended by 1million,2nd was Rendes-vous Houston(5 April 1986),attended by 1,5millions,3rd was Paris La Defence(14 July 1990) and 4th was Oxygen In Moskow(6 Sept 1997) attended by 3.5 millions people,and Jarre have many other concerts with an audience more that 1 million,but I was talking here strictly about concerts chronology in Guiness Records Book.But what did you say about the 3 BILLION audience on Monaco Concert………………………… happy for you.
and where is rock in rio ’85 , 400 000 people and Monsters of Rock ’91 in Moscow 1.6m people ????
The Stones had 1 and a half MILLION people in copacabana and it wasn’t at new year’s eve. That’s 1,500,000 people, so you don’t know what you’re talking about.
Beach Boys & others played DC and Philly on same day…over 1.5 million…not sure of the year but on July 4…to benefit renovation of Statue of Liberty…
jean michel jarre should have at least 3 placements in this top ten!
very inaccurate!
This list is a total bullshit. 1st Jarre 2nd Monsters of Rock 1991. New Year’s Eve is the event itself so it can’t be taken into cosideration
What about Metallica and AC/DC in Moscow in 1990. There must have een atleast 800 000 – 1 000 000 people!
Hey hey!!!! Monsters of Rock 1.6 million!!!!!!!!!
Does any of these words means something?
Metallica?, 1991?, moscow?, Monsters of Rock Festival?, 1.6 millions?, Metal up your a**?, Heavy Metal?
I think you guys forgot pink floyd the wall live in berlin. where all of germany east and west were brought together by a 400 metre stage that was 4 storiies high and broardcast live round the world maybe beiigest stage to.
isn’t the Simon ’91 concert missing from this. It outdrew S&G ’81.
Black eyed peas in rio more than 1 million in 2006
Love Parade in Berlin is an electronic music festival that drew 1,400,000 people last year. Where’s that on your list?
Elton central park – 450,000
Diana Ross, central park, 900,000 (est)
dude weres monsters of rock of 1991? it had somewere between 1.6 and 2.5 million people
Urrr….Jean Michel Jarre?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Moscow – 1997 (3,500,000) – WORLDS LARGEST CONCERT!!!!!
Paris – 1990 (2,500,000) – Record Breaker at time
Houston – 1987 (1,300,000) – Record breaker at time
Paris – 1995 (1,200,000)
Paris – 1979 (1,000,000) – Record breaker at time
All of these are larger than this entire top 10 (except Rod Stewart, which equals Jean’s Moscow concert)
Fishbone. Waterloo Records, Austin, TX. October 26, 2011. 12 people attended. Better than Rod Stewart.
I was at the US FEST in ’83. It ROCKED! Van Halen headlined the day of rock and David Lee Roth was so drunk he almost fell of the stage.
great list, but it s wrong
Where is Monsters of Rock ’91 in Moscow?
Ummmm……Rolling Stones Copacabana (Rio de Janeiro) Feb 2006 1.5mil. Your a little off the mark and full of shit, but at least you got people to read this trash…… right?
Were is queen ffs ?!?!?
what about metallica i russia,pink floyd, and monsters of rock in moscow
Umm what about Metallica in 91 at the monsters of rock there was like 1.6 million people in the audience.
And #1 on the list technically is not even a concert it was a new years party so technically Metallica had the biggest concert ever! Makes sence since they’re the best band ever just saying…
Diana Ross in central park was over 800,000 on the first night and over 500,000 the second night. Why is Simon and Garfunkle listed and not Diana Ross!!!
What about ,,the peter paul & mary concert,????,it was i recall held out at lake bonneville utah,in 1965,the audience was numbered at almost 9.5 million,people,,,,nothing anyone can come up with compares to this.
What about free AC DC concert in Moscow during the 90′s more than 1 million fans!
DIANA ROSS over 800,000 Central park 1983!!!!! and the next night over 500,000!!!!
Monsters of Rock concert at Tushino Airfield should be in second place with about 1.6 million people
i know more than 20 concerts, who had more than 1 million people
some:
paris la defense “jarre”- 2 million
jean micheal jarre moscul- 3.5 million
jean micheal paris – 1 million
love parade – 2.5 million
jean michael jarre houston -1.5 million
monter of rock moscul- 1.6 million
peace without border -1.5 million
the rolling stones – brazil -2 million
rammstein-berlin +1million
tushino airfield +1million
brazil and argentina had manys national musicians who moved more than 1 million people in concerts …this list sucks
This web site is so wrong. I’m not going to waste my time with the corrections.
its a great and nice list but there are oother big concerts
that concert with the 3,500,000 people was…… amazing you could also put iron maiden with 300,000
Theres the band TVXQ how perform in tokyo
and bring to there 550,000 people
Elvis Aloha from Hawaii, The Beatles All You Need Is Love both broadcast globally around The planet Urantus (Earth) via satelite and Jarred from Subway Sub Sandwiches in Moscovich. He’s such a multi grained talented guy! See kiddies it pays to eat healthy. Healthy food= healthy Minds, bodies and ideas. Lol did Subway sponsor that concert? Rumors have it Jarred went on a wild rampage in Moscow and threw lettuce at the audience because they couldnt understand his mumbled broken Canadian french! Jarred dont you know your supposed to speak English! Everyone in the master Universe does! Duh! Lol for those about to speak French we salute you…with our middle finger.
yeah, the moscow concert with acdc, was a record of its time. 2mill was estemated
Wait, where the hell is Rockfest ’91 at Tushino Airfield? There was well more than 700,000 people at that concert with Pantera and Metallica.
Bullshit, Metallica has the second biggest concert in Moscow with 1.8 million people!
Really big concerts. Wow…
Genesis played to 500,000 people in 2007 in Rome at the Circus Maximus. I was there, insane to see that many people in one place- even crazier was that they went to see Genesis…. This list sucks…
Where is Queen? over 2 million in Sydney. What about Rock in Rio 1985?
The photo you have for the Isle of Wight festival is of the current one at Seaclose in Newport, not the 1970 event in the countryside of the Island (locality:Afton).
I’ll check into it (maybe no digital versions of the 1970 concert available?!)
We need a version 2 on this one
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