Paul McCartney live: Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro

Paul McCartney performed at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 20 April 1990.

It was the 86th date of the Paul McCartney World Tour, which lasted for 102 dates across 14 countries between September 1989 and July 1990, and the first of two consecutive nights in Rio de Janeiro.

McCartney’s band was Linda McCartney on vocals, keyboards, and percussion; Hamish Stuart on guitar, bass guitar, and vocals; Robbie McIntosh on guitar and vocals; Paul ‘Wix’ Wickens on keyboards and vocals; and Chris Whitten on drums and percussion.

Brazilian fans do keep you waiting. Come the day of the first gig we’d sold not that many tickets and there was this amazing capacity to fill. I was a bit, Oh my God! Because that’s a pet worry of mine. Having been in The Beatles, you really don’t fancy the idea of staring at rows of empty seats. If I’m not selling out I’ll start to feel like some past-it actor. But I think it was because of the weather. There was a tropical rainstorm, black and thundering for the previous two days.

The morning before the gig I did a press conference to plug the gig and, particularly, to talk about Chico Mendes (assassinated campaigner for Brazilian workers’ rights) — there’s a track on Flowers In The Dirt called ‘How Many People’ which I’d dedicated to him. So there was a bit of a ceremonial, a meeting with Friends of the Earth and the new leaders of the rubber tappers in the aftermath of Chico’s death. We got that on the TV news.

One of the journalists said, What are you going to do about the weather, Paul? I gave it a straight face and said, It will clear up. Which sent them off giggling while they wrote their notes.

And that evening, when it had been pissing down all day, ten minutes before we went on it stopped. Like, hallelujah. Jammy git! We had a blinder of a show. It was frightening before we went on, the sheer size of it, but we were played in, and once we hit the stage we were all right, it’s your home, your own little box, your own environment.

McCartney returned to the Maracanã Stadium on 16 December 2023 during the Got Back Tour.

Soundcheck setlist

• ‘Mean Woman Blues’
• ‘Welcome Everybody (To Rio By The Sea)’
• ‘Matchbox’
• ‘Just Because’
• ‘Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying’
• ‘C Moon’
• ‘The Hustle’
• ‘Look At All The Lonely People’

Concert setlist

• ‘Figure Of Eight’
• ‘Jet’
• ‘Got To Get You Into My Life’
• ‘Rough Ride’
• ‘Band On The Run’
• ‘We Got Married’
• ‘Let ’Em In’
• ‘The Long And Winding Road’
• ‘The Fool On The Hill’
• ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’
• ‘Good Day Sunshine’
• ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’
• ‘Put It There’
• ‘Hello, Goodbye’
• ‘Things We Said Today’
• ‘Eleanor Rigby’
• ‘This One’
• ‘My Brave Face’
• ‘Back In The USSR’
• ‘I Saw Her Standing There’
• ‘Coming Up’
• ‘Let It Be’
• ‘Ain’t That A Shame’
• ‘Live And Let Die’
• ‘Hey Jude’
• ‘Yesterday’
• ‘PS Love Me Do’
• ‘Get Back’
• ‘Golden Slumbers’
• ‘Carry That Weight’
• ‘The End’

Paul McCartney World Tour dates

• 26 September 1989: Drammenshallen, Drammen, Norway
• 28 September 1989: Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden
• 29 September 1989: Johanneshovs Isstadion, Stockholm, Sweden
• 30 September 1989: Johanneshovs Isstadion, Stockholm, Sweden
• 3 October 1989: Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany
• 4 October 1989: Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany
• 6 October 1989: Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany
• 7 October 1989: Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany
• 9 October 1989: Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris, France
• 10 October 1989: Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris, France
• 11 October 1989: Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris, France
• 16 October 1989: Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany
• 17 October 1989: Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany
• 20 October 1989: Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany
• 21 October 1989: Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany
• 22 October 1989: Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany
• 24 October 1989: PalaEUR, Rome, Italy
• 26 October 1989: PalaTrussardi, Milan, Italy
• 27 October 1989: PalaTrussardi, Milan, Italy
• 29 October 1989: Hallenstadion, Zürich, Switzerland
• 30 October 1989: Hallenstadion, Zürich, Switzerland
• 2 November 1989: Palacio de los Deportes, Madrid, Spain
• 3 November 1989: Palacio de los Deportes, Madrid, Spain
• 5 November 1989: Halle Tony Garnier, Lyon, France
• 7 November 1989: Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands
• 8 November 1989: Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands
• 10 November 1989: Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands
• 11 November 1989: Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands
• 23 November 1989: Forum, Inglewood, USA
• 24 November 1989: Forum, Inglewood, USA
• 27 November 1989: Forum, Inglewood, USA
• 28 November 1989: Forum, Inglewood, USA
• 29 November 1989: Forum, Inglewood, USA
• 3 December 1989: Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, USA
• 4 December 1989: Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, USA
• 5 December 1989: Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, USA
• 7 December 1989: SkyDome, Toronto, Canada
• 9 December 1989: Forum, Montreal, Canada
• 11 December 1989: Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA
• 12 December 1989: Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA
• 14 December 1989: Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA
• 15 December 1989: Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA
• 2 January 1990: National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England
• 3 January 1990: National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England
• 5 January 1990: National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England
• 6 January 1990: National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England
• 8 January 1990: National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England
• 9 January 1990: National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England
• 11 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
• 13 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
• 14 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
• 16 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
• 17 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
• 19 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
• 20 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
• 21 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
• 23 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
• 24 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
• 26 January 1990: Wembley Arena, London, England
• 1 February 1990: The Palace, Auburn Hills, USA
• 2 February 1990: The Palace, Auburn Hills, USA
• 4 February 1990: Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, USA
• 5 February 1990: Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, USA
• 8 February 1990: Worcester Centrum, Worcester, USA
• 9 February 1990: Worcester Centrum, Worcester, USA
• 12 February 1990: Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, USA
• 14 February 1990: Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, USA
• 15 February 1990: Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, USA
• 18 February 1990: Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, USA
• 19 February 1990: Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, USA
• 3 March 1990: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
• 5 March 1990: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
• 7 March 1990: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
• 9 March 1990: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
• 11 March 1990: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
• 13 March 1990: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
• 29 March 1990: Kingdome, Seattle, USA
• 31 March 1990: California Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, USA
• 1 April 1990: California Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, USA
• 4 April 1990: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, USA
• 7 April 1990: Texas Stadium, Irving, USA
• 9 April 1990: Rupp Arena, Lexington, USA
• 12 April 1990: Tampa Stadium, Tampa, USA
• 14 April 1990: Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami Gardens, USA
• 15 April 1990: Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami Gardens, USA
• 20 April 1990: Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• 21 April 1990: Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• 23 June 1990: SECC Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
• 28 June 1990: King’s Dock, Liverpool, England
• 30 June 1990: Knebworth Festival, England
• 4 July 1990: RFK Stadium, Washington, DC, USA
• 6 July 1990: RFK Stadium, Washington, DC, USA
• 9 July 1990: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, USA
• 11 July 1990: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, USA
• 14 July 1990: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, USA
• 15 July 1990: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, USA
• 18 July 1990: Cyclone Stadium. Ames, USA
• 20 July 1990: Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, USA
• 22 July 1990: Carter–Finley Stadium, Raleigh, USA
• 24 July 1990: Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, USA
• 26 July 1990: Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, USA
• 29 July 1990: Soldier Field, Chicago, USA