2 died in plane crash near Squamish, B.C., police confirm
Two people died after a plane went down in a remote area near Squamish, B.C. on Friday, authorities have confirmed.
Madonna will give a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning its vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor. It comes after Rio de Janeiro spent the last few days readying itself for the historic performance by the "Queen of Pop."
Rio's City Hall has said some 1.5 million spectators are anticipated, more than 10 times more than Madonna's record attendance of 130,000 in Paris' Parc des Sceaux in 1987. Madonna's official website has been hyping the show as the biggest ever in her four-decade career.
It will be the last show of The Celebration Tour, her first retrospective which kicked off in October in London.
In recent days, the buzz has been palpable. Fans milled outside the stately, beachfront Copacabana Palace hotel, where Madonna is staying, hoping to catch a glimpse of the pop star. During the sound check on the stage that's in front of her hotel, they danced on the sand.
By about noon Saturday, hundreds of fans had gathered in front of the hotel. A white-bearded man carried a sign saying “Welcome Madonna you are the best I love you.”
Flags with ‘Madonna’ printed against a background of Copacabana's iconic black and white waved sidewalk pattern hung from balconies. The area was teeming with street vendors and concert attendees kitted out in themed T-shirts, sweating under a baking sun.
"Since Madonna arrived here, I've been coming every day with this outfit to welcome my idol, my diva, my pop queen," said Rosemary de Oliveira Bohrer, 69, who was supporting a gold-coloured cone bra and a black cap.
"It's going to be an unforgettable show here in Copacabana," said Oliveira Bohrer, a retired civil servant who lives in the area.
Eighteen sound towers have been spread along the beach to ensure that all attendees can hear the hits. Her two-hour show is set to start at 9:45 p.m. local time.
Fans take a selfie as they wait for the start of Madonna's last show of her The Celebration Tour, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazi. (Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo)
City Hall produced a report in April estimating that the concert will inject 293 million reals (US$57 million) into the local economy. Hotel capacity is expected to reach 98 per cent in Copacabana, according to Rio's hotel association. Fans hailing from across Brazil and even Argentina and France sought out Airbnbs for the weekend, the platform said in a statement. And Rio's international airport forecast an extra 170 flights from May 1-6, from 27 destinations, City Hall said in a statement.
"It's a unique opportunity to see Madonna, who knows if she'll ever come back," said Alessandro Augusto, 53, who flew in from Ceara state -- approximately 2,500 kilometres (1,555 miles) from Rio.
"Welcome Queen!" read Heineken ads plastered around the city, the lettering above an image of a upturned bottle cap resembling a crown. Heineken wasn't the only company seeking to profit from the excitement, with bars and restaurants reportedly preparing "Like a Virgin" cocktails, named for her 1984 hit. A shop in the downtown neighborhood famed for selling Carnival attire completely reinvented itself, stocking its shelves with Madonna-themed costumes, fans, fanny packs and even underwear.
Organization of the mega-event will be similar to New Year's Eve, when millions of people gather on Copacabana for the world-famous fireworks display, local authorities said. That annual event often produces widespread thefts and muggings, and there has been some concern such problems may occur at Madonna's show.
Rio state's security plan incudes the presence of 3,200 military personnel and 1,500 civilian police officers on stand by. In the lead-up to the concert, Brazil's navy carried out inspections of vessels that wish to position themselves at sea to follow the show.
A number of huge concerts have taken place on Copacabana beach before, including a 1994 New Year's Eve show by Rod Stewart that drew more than four million fans and was the biggest free rock concert in history, according to Guinness World Records. Many spectators had come to see Rio's fireworks show, though, so a more fitting comparison might be the Rolling Stones in 2006, which saw 1.2 million people crowd onto the sand, according to Rio's military police cited by Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper at the time.
Two people died after a plane went down in a remote area near Squamish, B.C. on Friday, authorities have confirmed.
Grayson Murray's parents said Sunday their 30-year-old son took his own life, just one day after he withdrew from a PGA Tour event.
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has shared his anger on social media over a presentation in at least four high schools.
An unknown Newfoundland soldier, who fought and died on the battlefields in northeastern France during the First World War, is back home this weekend for the first time in more than a hundred years.
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
The Indianapolis 500 started Sunday after a rain delay of four hours with NASCAR star Kyle Larson still at the track and in the race.
Real quick — what did you have for lunch yesterday? Were you with anyone? Where were you? Can you picture the scene? The ability to remember things that happened to you in the past, especially to go back and recall little incidental details, is a hallmark of what psychologists call episodic memory — and new research indicates that it’s an ability humans may share with birds called Eurasian jays.
When one is extended an invitation to the Royal Garden Party in London, England, there's undoubtedly no shortage of pomp and circumstance. Barrie, Ont. natives Megan Kirk Chang and her husband Brandon experienced just that as they entered the prestigious event hosted at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
An unlikely celebrity emerged from social media to cheer on the Edmonton Oilers as they face the Dallas Stars tonight in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
The proprietors of Regina's sole discount theatre are aware they're carrying on a significant legacy.
When Jujhar Mann said he wanted to be a pastry chef on a grade school career project, he didn't imagine that pursuing his dream would land him on a popular Netflix baking competition.
A city known for its history, ties to outer space and southern barbecue, is also home to a Winnipeg chef dishing out dozens of perogies.
A Montreal photographer captured the moment a Canada goose defended itself from a fox at the Botanical Garden.
Public libraries in Atlantic Canada are now lending a broader range of items.
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.