Setting the scene for Lady Gaga’s Copacabana Beach show

In a matter of weeks Luiz Oscar Niemeyer, the pioneering promoter behind some of the biggest concerts in Brazilian history, will look out over more than 1.5 million people on Copacabana Beach as Lady Gaga takes to the stage.

It will be the Brazilian veteran’s fourth mega-concert on Rio de Janeiro’s renowned beach – this time in partnership with Live Nation – and he has given IQ the exclusive inside track on what it takes to organise the iconic shows.

“Lady Gaga’s show is going to be a huge success,” he tells IQ. “We are confident that we know exactly what we’re doing. We had huge success with Madonna last year. We know all the variables, and we have a team that works very well together.”

As well as Madonna, The Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder have also delivered behemoth concerts at the famed location thanks to Niemeyer, president and CEO of Bonus Track.

Despite the vast numbers of people expected at Gaga’s free-to-attend concert on 3 May, Niemeyer insists that his team and the local authorities are well-versed in handling such huge crowds.

“All these forces come together to deliver something very special to the city of Rio, the fans, and the artist”

“Rio has a lot of experience with these things,” he continues. “For the past two decades, the government has hosted New Year’s Eve concerts on the beach with millions of people.”

In fact, Rod Stewart performed the most-attended free concert of all time on Copacabana Beach on 31 December 1994, with an estimated 4.2 million attendees.

Niemeyer estimates that 7,000 people or so will be involved in staging Gaga’s concert, from transport to police and production to concessions.

“All these forces come together to deliver something very special to the city of Rio, the fans, and the artist,” he continues. “City officials and the police handle crowd management. The Marines take care of all the boats that come in and out. There’s a lot of negotiation with different departments but everyone is well-trained.”

The gig is open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis and ingress is funnelled through 17 entrances, according to Niemeyer. Fans are banned from camping on the beach the night before, meaning that all 1.6 million people will arrive on the day via the two nearby subway stations and other public transportation.

“People already know how to behave because this is not the first time they’ve come to something like this,” says the Bonus Track CEO and president. “They come to have fun but we haven’t had any incidents with the last four concerts.”

The biggest challenge with any Copacabana Beach concert, Niemeyer tells IQ, is raising the necessary sponsors to cover costs.

“It’s a very costly project and obviously, we have no income from the box office,” he says. “Plus, it has to be a first-class production, especially with the kinds of major artists we bring in.

“This business model is a completely different ball game to, say, a stadium show,” he continues. “But we’ve gained the credibility and trust of sponsors – they know that we can deliver and they can get a good return on investment. The concerts generate so much news, plus we broadcast it live throughout Brazil, with around 35 million people watching.”

Mexican beer brand Corona has signed on as the official sponsor of the next four Copacabana Beach concerts, helping to keep the concerts free for the people of Brazil.

“People who can’t usually afford to go to a concert can come and see the best acts in the world play for them for free”

“It’s very democratic; people who can’t usually afford to go to a concert can come and see the best acts in the world play for them for free. It’s a gift the city and our sponsors give to its people.”

Setup for Gaga’s gig commenced at the beginning of April and is expected to be completed three to four days before it’s scheduled to take place.

“May is a perfect time to do these concerts because the weather is very good,” he tells IQ. “We don’t have a plan B for weather, but we’ve never needed one.

“It’s also a good to hold these concerts before summer in North America and Europe so we can secure artists before their schedules pick up a bit.”

Niemeyer had the idea to hold free concerts on Copacabana Beach in the mid-2000s, having made a name for himself with Paul McCartney’s 1990 concert at the Maracanã, which attracted 184,000 people, and with the groundbreaking mega festival Hollywood Rock (1988–1993).

“The Rolling Stones show gave me the credibility, know-how and the assurance to continue doing these shows”

After successfully landing the idea with city officials, The Rolling Stones delivered a historic performance to over 1.5 million people on the beach in 2006.

“It became an iconic show and the biggest concert in their career,” he remembers. “This experience gave me the credibility, the know-how and the assurance to continue doing these shows. No other promoter really came in and did anything this big – I was the pioneer.”

After every Copacabana Beach concert he has held, Niemeyer has sworn it would be his last, but something keeps pulling him back.

“When it’s months before a show, and there are a lot of problems to solve, I say that it’ll be the last one,” he says. “Then it gets closer to the concert and I think: ‘This is fun’. Then the show finishes and I’m already thinking about the next one!”

In fact, Niemeyer tells IQ that his team are looking to stage three more concerts in the next three years. “We promoters have something in our blood,” he laughs.

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