Controversial Croatian rock singer Marko Perković, known as Thompson, drew an estimated 450,000–500,000 people to Zagreb’s Hippodrome on 5 July, police and organisers said, making it the largest ticketed concert in the country’s history and one of the biggest ever staged worldwide. More than 6,500 police officers closed central streets, set up a field hospital and monitored the crowd, while a drone show of religious imagery lit the night sky. Thompson, 58, rose to fame during Croatia’s 1991-95 war of independence. Critics accuse him of rehabilitating the World War II Ustaše regime, and the singer is banned from performing in several European countries. During Saturday’s show he and the crowd chanted the slogan “Za dom – spremni” (“For the homeland—Ready!”), a phrase used by the Nazi-allied Ustaše, and video showed many fans giving the accompanying salute. The performer insists his songs espouse faith, family and patriotism, not fascism. Croatian law generally bans Ustaše symbols, but courts have permitted Thompson to use the slogan in a musical context. According to police, 123 people were arrested, mostly for possession of pyrotechnics, and no serious incidents were reported. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić condemned the gathering as support for “pro-Nazi values,” while Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and several cabinet members attended rehearsals, underscoring how the record-setting concert has sharpened the country’s debate over nationalism and historical memory.