Queen's biggest crowds were at the Rock in Rio festival in Brazil in January 1985, with estimates ranging from 250,000 to 500,000 people each night, setting records for paying audiences at the time, while their famous Live Aid performance in 1985 drew 72,000 at Wembley and was seen by billions globally.
The biggest concert crowd ever recorded was for Rod Stewart's free New Year's Eve show on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro in 1994, drawing an estimated 3.5 to 4 million people. Other massive events include Jean-Michel Jarre's 1997 Moscow concert (3.5 million) and his 1990 Paris show (2.5 million), and the Monsters of Rock festival in Moscow (1.6 million).
Coldplay made history by performing to an estimated 134,000 fans at Ahmedabad's massive stadium, marking the largest ticketed concert ever held in India.
In just 20 minutes, Freddie Mercury captivated 72,000 people at Wembley Stadium in London (broadcast simultaneously at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia) and millions of spectators around the world, in a performance that rewrote the history of live concerts.
They were both huge, but in their peaks Led Zepp probably had the top spot.
1: 'Bohemian Rhapsody' (Live Aid, Wembley Stadium, 1985)
Queen's 1976 tour-de-force, 'Bohemian Rhapsody', opened the band's celebrated Live Aid set in July 1985. “The concert may have come out of a terrible human tragedy, but we want to make it a joyous occasion,” said Mercury before the show. They did just that.
Number of people in attendance at her biggest show to date
Swift played three back-to-back shows at MCG on Feb. 16, 17, and 18 that were each attended by a record 96,000 people for a three-day total of 288,000 concertgoers.
According to our data, Coldplay's music has been played 40,000 more times across UK radio and TV than Queen, who ranked second.
The largest crowd ever for a concert event in Australia was The Seekers 1967 homecoming concert at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl which an estimated 200,000 people attended.
The Eras Tour by Taylor Swift is the highest-grossing tour of all time. The first tours to surpass $100 million were Michael Jackson's Bad World Tour and Pink Floyd's Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour, both running from 1987 until 1989.
Rod Stewart's legendary concert on Copacabana Beach drew 3.5 million attendees in Rio de Janeiro, making it the largest concert in recorded music history. This free concert, held on New Year's Eve, turned the beach into a mega venue, with the crowd spreading across the sand and streets of the city.
From pop royalty to prog-rock gods, here are the household names who decided against showing up to the pop cultural phenomenon, which took place 40 years ago on July 13. Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Eurythmics all turned down Live Aid.
Freddie Mercury's last words are reported differently depending on who is sharing, with his partner Jim Hutton recalling his final utterance as a request to go to the toilet ("Pee, pee!") while being helped, and friend Peter Freestone stating his last words to him were a simple, poignant "Thank you," possibly for his care or for their years together. Other final messages include his public farewell "I still love you" in the video for "These Are The Days Of Our Lives," and his wish for unfinished music to be released, notes the Facebook post with his companion Mary Austin.
The Beatles claim the top spot as the most successful recording artists of all time, with over 600 million claimed sales to date! Other artists like Michael Jackson, Elvis, Madonna and Queen make up the rest of the top five.
Jackson was a fan of the band and often attended their shows. After a concert in Los Angeles in 1980, he showed up backstage and told the band members that they needed to release "Another One Bites the Dust" as a single.
At a concert in Manchester, U.K., on Sunday, July 20, Liam Gallagher told audience members, "Do we have any lovebirds in the house? Don't worry, we ain't got any of that Coldplay, snidey f------camera s---. It doesn't matter to us who you're f------ mingling with, or tingling with or fingering with.
Best live performances of all time
Taylor Swift is the highest-grossing live music artist of all time.
Coldplay with 24.8 million tickets sold. Next, is U2, with 20.2 million tickets sold, and Ed Sheeran, with 19.6 million. Rounding out the top five is Dave Matthews Band, with nearly 19.6 million tickets sold, and Swift, with roughly 18.9 million. Keep in mind that her debut album was released in 2006.
Queen's biggest hit is widely considered to be "Bohemian Rhapsody," a groundbreaking 1975 track from A Night at the Opera, known for its unique operatic rock structure, massive commercial success (becoming a UK #1 twice), and enduring cultural impact, including becoming the most-streamed song from the 20th century, while "Another One Bites the Dust" (1980) was their best-selling single in the US and globally, marking a major commercial peak in the early 80s.
During the concert, Live Aid, after the fantastic and explosive performance of Queen, Elton John said to his friend Freddie: "After you, no one else should perform, you were fantastic!" Freddie smiling replied: "You're right my dear, we were magnificent!
Queen performing at Live Aid in front of 72,000 people in Wembley Stadium, London on the 13th July, 1985.