Brazilian authorities announced on Sunday that they had thwarted a plan to set off bombs at a Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro, an event attended by more than two million people, according to certain estimates.
Rio de Janeiro’s civil police publicized this information a day after Gaga’s free concert took place on Copacabana Beach. The event went on without any problems, and Gaga’s team later informed The Associated Press that they had learned about the threat through media reports.
The police stated that the group behind the failed bomb plot was recruiting participants, including teens, to carry out attacks with homemade explosives and Molotov cocktails, targeting children, adolescents, and members of the L.G.B.T.Q. community.
They added that the leader of the group was arrested in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul for unlawful firearms possession, and a teenager was detained for keeping child pornography. It was not immediately clear if either of the arrested individuals had been charged.
Representatives for Lady Gaga, a known advocate for L.G.B.T.Q. rights, did not respond to inquiries on Sunday.
Gaga’s show was part of Rio de Janeiro’s attempt to attract major artists to perform at large, free concerts on Copacabana Beach. Madonna performed a similar event last year.
Jack Nicas contributed to this report.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/world/americas/lady-gaga-brazil-attack-threat.html
