Brazil police foil Lady Gaga gig bomb plot

BRASILIA – Brazilian police said on May 4 they arrested two people in connection with a foiled plot to bomb Lady Gaga’s packed mega-concert in Rio de Janeiro.

Rio de Janeiro’s civil police force said that together with the ministry of justice, it “prevented a bomb attack that would have occurred at Lady Gaga’s concert in Copacabana” on the night of May 3.

Officials said the American superstar’s free gig on the beach, her first concert in Brazil since 2012, drew more than two million people.

Writing on X, the police said they had arrested an adult responsible for the plot and a teenager in the operation named Fake Monster – a reference to the pop diva’s pet name for her fans, Little Monsters.

The post added that they had recruited people online to carry out attacks using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails as a collective challenge, with the aim of “gaining notoriety on social media”.

The police added that the group behind the alleged plot spread hate speech, and promoted radicalisation and self-harm online.

The police carried out raids across Rio de Janeiro and in the states of Sao Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul and Mato Grosso.

“The police acted silently and without creating panic. We acted surgically to prevent the crime from happening,” said Mr Felipe Curi from Rio de Janeiro’s Civil Police in a statement.

‘Scared sick’

Security was tight at the concert on May 3, with some 5,000 officers, drones, and surveillance and facial recognition cameras deployed.

The 39-year-old star’s fans reacted with shock to the news of the foiled plot.

“This would have had an impact on over two million people,” posted the LadyGagaFansTogether Instagram account, which has 307,000 followers.

Writing on the same account, one fan said he was “scared sick about Lady Gaga being safe at all times”.

The concert was the second million-strong show on Copacabana Beach in a year, after a huge concert by American pop star Madonna in 2024. 

According to Variety magazine, Lady Gaga’s concert drew about 2.5 million people, setting a new record for the highest-attended concert by a female artiste in history.

The previous record was held by Madonna, who drew 1.6 million people to her free concert at Copacabana Beach in May 2024.

Lady Gaga on May 4 thanked her fans in Brazil on social media for “the biggest crowd for any woman in history”.

“Your heart shines so bright, your culture is so vibrant and special. I hope you know how grateful I am to have shared this historical moment with you,” she posted.

The gig was part of a strategy by Rio de Janeiro to hold mega-concerts in May to boost tourism during what is considered the low season.

All week, Lady Gaga fans had flocked to the city famous for its annual Carnival that attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the world.

Mayor Eduardo Paes has also hinted that he plans to bring in Irish rock band U2, although no date has been given.

Lady Gaga kicked off her show perched more than 2m above the stage in a massive scarlet hoop gown.

“Brazil, I missed you so much,” screamed the pop star, who performed several tracks from her latest album, Mayhem (2025), as well as hits from throughout her career. AFP