After a reader wondered if 2.1 million people could really have seen Lady Gaga at Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach in May, BBC Verify looked into it.
The Lady Gaga concert was paid for by the seaside city in an attempt to revitalise its economy.
Fans reportedly travelled from all across the country to see the grandiose performance, which was expected to bring in more than $100m (£75m) to the local economy.
Rio officials heralded the 2.1 million attendance as a triumph.
However, careful analysis by the BBC Verify team and a crowd density expert reveal it is highly improbable the claims are accurate.
Instead, it would require the entire length of the beach, rather than a section, to comfortably fit more than two million people.
Despite the BBC’s findings, city officials have maintained their claims. They have not however explained how their data was measured.
Watch the full analysis above.
Produced by Mohamed Shalaby and Kevin Nguyen, graphics by Mesut Ersoz.
