Bon Jovi Concert in Central Park 2
Central Park has been home to concerts from the time it opened. Prior to the trees maturing in the area known as the Ramble, free Saturday concerts were held there starting in 1859. Later concerts happened in the northern end of The Mall. An elaborate cast-iron bandstand once stood on the present site of the bust of composer Ludwig von Beethoven. To prevent damage to the grounds and trees, special fences were designed by Calvert Vaux that also provided seating for concert-goers. After falling into disrepair, they were recreated for visitors in 1991.
It is said that over 50,000 people came to The Mall to hear Italian opera star Enrico Caruso entertain a crowd by performing a version of "Over There" in both English and French during a concert in 1918. According to newspaper accounts of that time, the crowd was one of the largest ever in Central Park. It was decided that a bigger bandshell was needed, and so the new Naumburg Bandshell was built in 1923. Such greats as Irving Berlin, Benny Goodman, and Duke Ellington have entertained at the Bandshell. While concerts, barbershop quartets and others continued to perform at the Bandshell, other areas of the park also started to hold concerts.
The New York Philharmonic annual performances began in 1965 at Sheep Meadow and were an immediate success; park goers were able to enjoy a free performance by a world-class symphony, and the symphony was exposed to an audience that may never have gone to an indoor event at Lincoln Center. These performances are the largest crowds that the Philharmonic gets, and they are now held on the Great Lawn.
While not as large a venue, Wollman Rink from 1967-1976, hosted the Schaefer Brewing Company concerts each summer, which later became the Dr. Pepper Central Park Music Festival, with a capacity of approximately 7,000 people.
Top 10 list in terms of crowds:
This list was gathered from a number of sources, most of these sources agree on one thing, that most of these numbers were fabrications. There was no accurate way to count how many people attended most of these concerts. Unlike today, where most of these concerts have become a ticketed events, and have fences around the area. How many of these did you attend?
1. July 1986 New York Philharmonic in Central Park 800,000 people
2. August 1997 Garth Brooks in Central Park 750,000 people
3. April 1990 (Earth Day) Daryl Hall and John Oates, Edie Brickell, and The B – 52s. 750,000 people
4. September 1981 Simon & Garfunkel in Central Park 500,000 people
5. July 23, 1983 Diana Ross 450,000-800,000 people (estimates range)
6. September 13, 1980 Elton John performed on the Great Lawn stage 400,000 people
7. July 1979 James Taylor played the last big concert at Sheep Meadow 250,000 people
8. June 1980 Pavarotti 200,000 people
9. June 1967 Barbra Streisand. 135,000 people
10. October 1995 Pope Paul outdoor Mass on Central Park’s Great Lawn 125,000 people
Other top concerts in terms of crowds:
August 1973 New York Philharmonic an all-Tchaikovsky performance 110,000 people Summer 1966 New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein conducted Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 and Stravinsky's "Rites of Spring." at the Sheep Meadow 75,000 people June 1995 Pocahontas on the Great Lawn 70,000-100,000 people