Massive concert in Zagreb

 

A massive sea of fans descended on Zagreb’s Hippodrome on July 5, with authorities estimating over 450,000 tickets sold—and organisers claiming up to 504,000—making it the largest paid concert in history scmp.com+11reuters.com+11croatiaweek.com+11. Tens of thousands began arriving in the morning, crossing Freedom Bridge amid rivers of pedestrians after major traffic routes were shut and extra public transport provided glashrvatske.hrt.hr.

Police deployed an unprecedented security apparatus, with over 6,500 officers, snipers on rooftops, helicopters overhead, and a secure command center nicknamed “The Cube” coordinating the effort glashrvatske.hrt.hr+1n1info.rs+1. Emergency teams—including 17 ambulance crews, 175 Red Cross volunteers, firefighters, and medical staff—were on standby at a field hospital with 200 beds glashrvatske.hrt.hr+2en.wikipedia.org+2en.wikipedia.org+2.

On stage, nationalist-rock singer Marko Perković, known as Thompson, performed for three hours to a sea of fans wearing black T‑shirts, waving Croatian flags, and lighting flares glashrvatske.hrt.hr+10croatiaweek.com+10apnews.com+10. A controversial moment came when many in the crowd repeated the “Za dom spremni” salute—a greeting associated with Croatia’s World War II Ustasha regime—prompting criticism from historians and regional leaders en.wikipedia.org+8apnews.com+8euronews.com+8. While Thompson defends his music as expressions of patriotism, God, and family values, prosecutors have previously banned him from performing in several European countries over fascist symbolism

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The concert, described by organisers as a “musical and patriotic spectacle,” set a new world record in ticketed attendance, dwarfing previous numbers like Vasco Rossi's 225,000 in Modena in 2017 nme.com+6euronews.com+6croatiaweek.com+6. A spectacular audiovisual production—including drones, pyrotechnics, and an enormous stage—made it Croatia’s most complex entertainment event, with no major incidents reported, despite hundreds of minor medical cases handled .

The event sparked debate in Croatia and beyond: supporters called it a patriotic celebration, while critics—such as former Croatian PM Jadranka Kosor—decried how state and city infrastructure were mobilised “in service of one man,” and expressed concern over glorification of a fascist past