VIDEO: Thompson plays to 504,000 to break world record in Zagreb
- by croatiaweek
- in Entertainment
(Photo credit: Roberta F./CC BY-SA 3.0/InstragraM/Dalmatinksi Portal/Screenshot)
Croatian singer Marko Perković Thompson made history on Saturday night with a spectacular concert at Zagreb’s Hippodrome that reportedly drew over half a million fans, breaking the world record for the highest number of tickets sold for a music concert.
According to official figures from the event headquarters, approximately 450,000 tickets were sold, while organisers claim that as many as 504,000 people were in attendance, surpassing the previous record held by Italian star Vasco Rossi, who sold 225,173 tickets for his concert in Modena in 2017.
Fans began arriving at the Hippodrome from the early morning hours on what was a hot summer day in the Croatian capital. By the evening, the vast open-air venue was packed with a sea of people eagerly awaiting the start of what Thompson described as a “musical and patriotic spectacle.”
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The concert began around 9 pm and lasted three hours, delivering a powerful performance backed by one of the most elaborate stage productions ever seen in Croatia.
The massive stage stood 33 metres high and 150 metres wide, with the performance platform elevated three to four metres above the ground to give all fans a better view.
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Due to the scale of the production, some of the high-end technical equipment had to be brought in from Dubai, as not all of the necessary gear could be sourced within Croatia.
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The event was one of the most logistically complex concerts ever held in the region. Nearly 14,000 personnel, including police officers, firefighters, emergency medical teams, Civil Protection units, Red Cross staff and security, were involved in managing and securing the event throughout the day.
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The concert passed with no major problems. The Ministry of the Interior reported that 123 people were taken into custody during the event, and medical teams handled 245 interventions across the Hippodrome and nearby Bundek area.
