Neil Asher

Shakira played a free show on Copacabana beach last night to a crowd of 2 million. Rio's city government paid $4 million to put it on. The city is expecting around $155 million in return. The whole thing is a tourism program called "Todo Mundo no Rio," which means "Everyone in Rio." Every year through 2028, the city books one massive pop star for a free show on Copacabana. The city built it to fill hotels in May. That month sits between Rio's two peak tourism windows, and bookings would otherwise dip. The first two years proved the model. Madonna's 2024 show pulled in 1.6 million people, and the local economy got about $60 million out of it. Lady Gaga came in 2025, drew 2.1 million, and brought in $109 million. Both weekends, the city's hotels were packed. Shakira is on track to top them both. Rio's economic office is projecting around $155 million in spending at hotels, restaurants, taxis, and shops, plus another $250 million worth of news coverage worldwide that the city would otherwise have to buy through ads. About 310,000 of last night's crowd flew or drove in from outside Rio. Airline bookings to the city were up 80% the week of the show compared to the same week in 2024. Hotels were full. When the previous mayor was asked whether spending public money on a free Lady Gaga show was a good idea, he didn't dance around it. Yes, he said. He'd done the same for Madonna. The reason was simple: the shows fill the hotels and the restaurants, and the tax money rolls in. 2 million people is about the population of Paris. They were all standing on a 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) stretch of beach. The setup ran 16 video and audio towers down the coast so the back rows could still see and hear. The city is generating roughly $40 of economic activity for every $1 of public money it puts in. They're doing it again in 2027.

A family in Portugal is selling their 40-acre estate. It's inside a protected natural park. Farmhouse restored in the local style. A natural spring, a stream running through the land, two dams, and a well 75m deep. It also has olive trees, fruit trees, and a cork oak forest. In Portugal, cork oaks are protected by law. You can't cut them down. But every 9 years you can harvest the bark, and it grows back. The harvested cork goes into wine stoppers, flooring, insulation, handbags, shoes, even aerospace panels. This estate's trees currently hold about 24 tons of it. The estate covers three parcels. The house sits on the first and can be expanded by over 50%. The other two have potential for new builds. €782k ($920k), direct from the owner. Happy to do an intro for anyone seriously interested. Serra de São Mamede, 2km from the Spanish border. At night, there's no light pollution and according to the owners you can see the Milky Way. What would you do with a place like this?

Wonderful to visit today with the Chairman of the Dominican Republic’s telecom regulator—Chairman Guido Gomez Mazara. Enjoyed the productive discussion on our shared tech and telecom priorities.

Europe created a monster: • Forces annoying popups on EVERY website • Costs businesses €10 BILLION+ in compliance • Provides ZERO actual privacy protection The annoying truth about how one dumb "feel good law" is slowing European innovation 🍪: