You can't really believe anything, thanks for your calculations,
I think people usually overestimate themselves and underestimate most dangers.

Spoiler: ChatGpT KI:

Rod Stewart in Rio in 1994 Rod Stewart's concert on Copacabana Beach is often considered the "largest concert in history," with approximately 3.5 million people in attendance. Location: Copacabana Beach Occasion: New Year's Eve celebration (so not just a "typical concert audience") Open to the public, no tickets required

Here too:
- The count was based on area estimates (people per square meter × occupied area)
- It's difficult to distinguish between those who were there "for the concert" and those who were simply there for New Year's Eve.

Shakira Concert | Drone Video Shows Huge Crowd At ...
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AOuHrT7zqb4

A summary of the largest crowds. (in Millions)
1. Kumbh Mela Pilgrimage Festival 2013, India, 30.0
2. Al-Arba'in Festival 2014, Iraq, 17.0
3. Funeral of C.N. Annadurai 1969, India, 15.0
4. Funeral of Ayatollah Khomeini 1989, Iran, 10.0
5. Papal Visit 2015, Philippines, 6.0
6. World Youth Day 1995, Philippines, 5.0
7. Chicago Cubs Victory Celebration 2016, USA, 5.0
8. Funeral of Gamal Abdel Nasser 1970, Egypt, 5.0
9. Rod Stewart Concert 1994, Brazil, 3.5
10. Hajj Pilgrimage 2012, Saudi Arabia, 3.0

 

I don't know how you know...Triggerflipper is actually Targa Turunen.

 

I agree. To be honest, I expected worse. That's the level of social internet these days...

Underrated nerd joke, no matter how many likes
"OMG she nailed that last one! Luckily I have a MACH 2.6 F16 Uber at hand!"

Holy shite. You've been unmasked @triggerflipper , you sneaky cunning one!

On a side note, even Tarja got a huge tatoo. Didn't see that coming

 

It comes to numbers different than yours because:

Here’s a simple way to sanity-check “polygon proves it’s only 700K” claims without getting dragged into bad geometry arguments. < I thought my Sean Spicer arguing about crowd sizes comment already would have... The differences in numbers from 2 different AI sources is what I actually see as interesting, not anyone's bad math. I have no reason to minimize or overstate the numbers, and I'm not really sure why anyone does.

Spoiler

Step 1: Ask what area they actually measured
Most of these estimates quietly use only:

• The sand directly in front of the stage
• Sometimes a narrow strip of beach (say 300–800 m of the 4 km)

If they didn’t include:

• Entire 4 km beach length
• Avenida Atlântica (road behind the beach)
• Side street spillover
  then the result is automatically a low-end partial count.

That alone usually explains the “700K ceiling.”

Step 2: Check their assumed density
Ask: “What people-per-square-meter did you use?”

Common mistake:

• Using ~2 people/m² everywhere (or less)

Reality at events:

• Front zones: 4–6 people/m²
• Mid zones: 2–4
• Outer areas: 1–2

If they used a single low density everywhere, the estimate collapses.

Step 3: Check if they treated it like a static crowd
A lot of polygon models assume:

• One fixed moment in time
• No movement in or out

But Copacabana events are:

• Continuous flow for hours
• People arriving/leaving constantly
• Crowd density shifting by zone

So any “snapshot-only” model undercounts real attendance.

Step 4: Look for missing “non-beach” space
This is the biggest giveaway.

If they ignored:

• Avenida Atlântica (huge crowd buffer zone)
• Cross streets feeding into the beach
• Hotel front viewing areas

…then they’re modeling only part of the system, not the event.

Step 5: Quick reality check math
Even a conservative version:

• 300,000 m² × 2 people/m² = 600,000
• 500,000 m² × 2–3 people/m² = 1–1.5M
• Add spillover areas = +200K to +500K+

So:

• “700K max” only works if you assume small area + low density + no spillover

That’s three conservative assumptions stacked together.

So it says, in summary: A polygon on the beach only measures one layer of the event. Copacabana crowds are distributed across beach + roads + side streets and change density over time, so a single static outline will always undercount.

 

@Lois Lane why tf are you spreading misinformation about me ???
@Xupito don't listen to that old fart, his brain has turned to mush from constant gooning. That chick on the video is not me, everyone knows I'm the second chick from the left on this video :

 

Me thinks you are confusing grinning with (I had to look up the definition) gooning...and your purple outfit suits your skin tone.

 

Damn I really hate reels, stamp size, low resolution, vertical shot, large useless frame...
But precious, thanks for the link.

As I feared the real extension of the area is not (wisely/cunningly) shown, but with a little effort you can see that only a relatively small portion of the beach is used.

And, you can count 7 pairs of display repeaters, so that limits the technical area, unless you want use binoculars or something.
It's actually smaller that I thought, something like this (including main streets):


Last but not least, (courtesy of Shakira), if the crowd was all over the place covering the whole beach and all the rest, why not showing the whole lot?
Duh?


Do yourself the ppl count, it will be someway disappointing.

 

Because many reporters are under immense pressure to succeed and operate in high-stress environments; they are expected to "sell" the festival effectively—which is, after all, what their editors pay them for. They must convey a sense of superlatives and uniqueness, while also generating high click-through rates.

As a rule of thumb: The higher the body count and the more blood that flows, the higher the ratings.