List of most-attended concerts
The following is a list of the most-attended concerts in history, including ticketed concerts with at least 100,000 tickets sold and free concerts with at least one million attendees. The list excludes concerts that are part of music festivals.
The first concert to sell at least 100,000 tickets was by Grateful Dead at Englishtown Raceway Park in 1977, with 107,019 tickets sold. Currently, Marko Perković Thompson holds the record for the concert with the most tickets sold, held in 2025 at the Zagreb Hippodrome, with 504,000 tickets sold. Additionally, Michael Jackson held 11 concerts with at least 100,000 tickets sold, Robbie Williams held four such concerts, and Queen and the Rolling Stones each held such concert three times.
The attendance numbers of free concerts are exaggerations. The first free concert to attract at least one million attendees was by Jean-Michel Jarre on Place de la Concorde in 1979. Currently, Rod Stewart holds the record for the free concert with the highest attendance, held on New Year's Eve 1994 on Copacabana Beach, attracting over 3.5 million attendees. Additionally, Jean-Michel Jarre held a total of 5 free concerts with over a million attendees. Madonna and Lady Gaga are only female artists so far to have held such concert, each did so once, with Gaga holding the female attendance record of 2.1 to 2.5 million.
Ticketed concerts
Free concerts
| Rank | Attendees | Artist | Venue | City | Event | Date | |
| 1 | Copacabana Beach | Rio de Janeiro | New Year's Eve | December 31, 1994 | |||
| 2 | Moscow State University | Moscow | 850th Anniversary of Moscow | September 6, 1997 | |||
| 3 | Copacabana Beach | Rio de Janeiro | New Year's Eve | December 31, 1993 | |||
| 4 | La Défense | Paris | Bastille Day | July 14, 1990 | |||
| 5 | Copacabana Beach | Rio de Janeiro | Mayhem on the Beach / Todo Mundo no Rio | May 3, 2025 | |||
| 6 | Circus Maximus | Rome | AS Roma's 3rd Serie A Victory | June 24, 2001 | |||
| 7 | Madonna | Copacabana Beach | Rio de Janeiro | May 4, 2024 | |||
| 8 | Various | Tushino Airfield | Moscow | Monsters of Rock | September 28, 1991 | ||
| 9 | Copacabana Beach | Rio de Janeiro | February 18, 2006 | ||||
| 10 | Various | Philadelphia Museum of Art | Philadelphia | Live 8 | July 2, 2005 | ||
| 11 | Downtown Houston | Houston | 150th Anniversary of Houston | April 5, 1986 | |||
| 12 | Various | Plaza de la Revolución | Havana | Paz Sin Fronteras II | September 20, 2009 | ||
| 13 | Black Eyed Peas | Ipanema Beach | Rio de Janeiro | New Year's Eve | December 31, 2006 | ||
| 14 | Philadelphia Museum of Art | Philadelphia | Independence Day | July 4, 1985 | |||
| 15 | Place de la Concorde | Paris | Bastille Day | July 14, 1979 |