"A lot of people" is plural (but I am no English teacher just a native speaker) so I would say "There are a lot of people"

It’s correct to say “there are a lot of people”, since “people” is the plural of “person” (in this context, as it is most of the time). It would be wrong to say “there is” in your sentence, *but* the contraction “there’s” is often used in colloquial English even with plural subjects, so you will hear “there’s a lot of people”. You will even hear this from educated native speakers in informal conversation. Grammar fanatics are another matter….

It (is) means the singular word you can use this for one person (Are) means plural as you can use for a number of persons

It’s plural so you should say “There are a lot of people”. Please check my profile and feel free to message me. 😄

There are a lot of people.