Brazil police thwart bomb attack on Lady Gaga concert

Brazilian police say they prevented a planned bomb attack targeting the free Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night. According to a statement from police, a group was attempting to attack "children, adolescents, and the LGBTQIA+ community." Two people allegedly involved were arrested in raids across different states, police said. The free concert took place on Saturday night on Copacabana Beach. More than 2 million people attended, making it the largest show of Lady Gaga's career. The anticipation leading up to the gig was immense, with fans coming to the beach days earlier to watch the stage go up and possibly catch a glimpse of the pop star. According to Brazilian police, the attack's alleged organizers were recruiting participants online — including teenagers — to carry out the bombing using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails. The overarching plan, police say, was to frame the attack as a "collective challenge" and gain notoriety on social media.The person responsible for the plan and a teenager were arrested, the police said.

Acting on a tip-off, Brazil police foiled a bomb plot targeting Lady Gaga's concert at the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro that drew around two million people https://t.co/f09MTaEL7w pic.twitter.com/yVofbhwVC5

— Reuters (@Reuters) May 4, 2025

Lady Gaga's team said they learned about the bomb threat only from media reports the morning after the gig. A crowd of more than two million people gathered for the concert, which was free to attend.