Rock in Rio | |
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Rock in Rio logo before a concert.
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Genre | Rock, pop, indie, heavy metal |
Location(s) |
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Madrid, Spain Lisbon, Portugal Las Vegas, United States |
Years active | 1985–present |
Founded by | Roberto Medina |
Website | |
www |
Rock in Rio is a recurring music festival originating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas.
Seven incarnations of the festival were held in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991, 2001, 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017, seven in Lisbon, in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016, three in Madrid in 2008, 2010 and 2012, and one in Las Vegas, in 2015. Brazilian entrepreneur and advertiser Roberto Medina was responsible for the inception and organization of the festival, as well as moving the 2004 edition to Lisbon, while controversially keeping the brand "Rock in Rio". In 2011, Rock in Rio returned to its original location, Rio de Janeiro, with a new line-up of singers and groups.
Rock in Rio is one of the largest music festivals in the world, with 1.5 million people attending the first event, 700,000 attending the second and fourth, about 1.2 million attending the third, and about 350,000 people attending each of the three Lisbon events.
The first edition of the festival was held from January 11–20, 1985. Queen, George Benson, Rod Stewart, AC/DC and Yes were the headliners, each occupying top spot for two nights (Benson, however, ceded it to James Taylor for their second night in the same bill, due to the huge delay Taylor's extended performance had caused to his concert two days before). About 1.4 million people attended the 10-day-long festival.
Rock in Rio in numbers
The full list of artists who performed at Rock in Rio:
The second edition was held from January 18–27, 1991 at the Maracanã stadium. Headliners were Guns N' Roses, Prince and George Michael, each being top billed for two of the event's nine nights. INXS, New Kids on the Block and A-ha also got top billing, for one night each.