Rock in Rio

Rock in Rio, the largest rock festival in the world (1.5 million people in the first edition, 700 thousand in the second, about 1 million in the third, and in the 3 international editions so far, all in Lisbon, each received about 350 thousand people), is a series of rock festivals held in Brazil and later in Portugal. Three incarnations of the festival were in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991 and 2001 and three in Lisbon, in 2004, 2006 and 2008. The shows were organized by entrepreneur Roberto Medina. And also in Madrid (Spain in 2008.

Rock in Rio

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 "city of rock", the place were the event was held (which was built for the festival) covered an area of 250.000 m2 (around 2.7 million feet2):-1.600.000 liters of beverages were served, using 4 million plastic cups.:-900.000 hamburgers.:-500.000 pizza slices.:-Mc Donalds sold 58.000 hamburgers in a single day, which was a Guinness World Record

The full list of acts who performed at Rock in Rio:

International Artists	Brazilian Artists
:AC/DC:Al Jarreau:The B-52's:George Benson:The Go-Go's:Iron Maiden:James Taylor:Nina Hagen:Ozzy Osbourne:Queen:Rod Stewart:Scorpions:Whitesnake:Yes	:Alceu Valença:Baby Consuelo & Pepeu Gomes:Barão Vermelho:Blitz:Eduardo Dusek:Elba Ramalho:Erasmo Carlos:Gilberto Gil:Ivan Lins:Kid Abelha:Lulu Santos:Moraes Moreira:Ney Matogrosso:Paralamas do Sucesso:Rita Lee

* Both Queen shows were filmed (on January 11 and January 18) and broadcast throughout Brazil by Globo. Each show was watched by nearly 200 million people in over 60 countries. It was later broadcast in the United States on MTV as "Queen: Rock in Rio."

* Iron Maiden's own performance began at exactly two minutes to midnight.Fact|date=May 2007 This was in celebration and promotion of their latest release, Powerslave, which featured the song 2 Minutes to Midnight. A widely known event occurred during the song "Revelations", when lead singer Bruce Dickinson, playing the guitar, threw his instrument up in the air, which proceeded to hit him on the forehead, opening a deep cut and soaking his face with blood.Fact|date=May 2007 Dickinson went on as if nothing had happened. The British group was the only non-Brazilian act to play just one concert at the festival (at its opening night, headlined by Queen), since they were already booked for the days ahead and couldn't stay in Rio for longer. All the other international acts performed twice.

* The Go-Go's broke up after their two Rock in Rio performances, though they would later reunite in the 1990s. The two Rock in Rio shows were the debut and swansong for short-tenured Go-Go's member Paula Jean Brown, who had replaced Jane Wiedlin. (Wiedlin would return to the reunited 1990s lineup.)

* Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, at the time Talking Heads drummer and bass player, respectively, took part at the B-52's' concert. They joined the band from the third song on and played along with them for the remainder of the performance.

* Nina Hagen was paid nothing for her two performances, since she had approached Roberto Medina, the festival's mentor herself, requesting a place in its bill. Queen were the highest-paid act, commanding US$ 600,000 for its two headlining performances, on January 11 and 18.

* Initially, Def Leppard were scoped to join the festival. However, they dropped out about two months before the event, due to delays on the recording process of the album that came to be Hysteria. They were replaced by Whitesnake. The situation's turnaround would prove sadly fortunate for the festival's organizers, as Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen suffered the famous accident that cost him his left arm on New Year's Eve, a mere 11 days before the beginning of the festival.

* There's a video on YouTube of Os Paralamas do Sucesso lead singer Herbert Vianna advising the crowd to attend only to the performances of the artists they enjoy. Vianna said that because rocks were thrown on the stage during Kid Abelha's performance on the event a day earlier. Around that time, Kid Abelha's lead singer Paula Toller was reportedly Vianna's love interest. [http://youtube.com/watch?v=iG_qfoT2Gro]

Rock in Rio 2

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.

Full list of artists who performed at Rock in Rio 2:

International Artists	Brazilian Artists
:a-ha:Billy Idol:Colin Hay:Debbie Gibson:Deee-Lite:Faith No More:George Michael:Guns N' Roses:Happy Mondays:Information Society:INXS:Jimmy Cliff:Joe Cocker:Judas Priest:Lisa Stansfield:Megadeth:New Kids on the Block:Prince:Queensrÿche:Run DMC:Santana:Snap!	:Alceu Valença:Capital Inicial:Ed Motta:Elba Ramalho:Engenheiros do Hawaii:Hanoi Hanoi:Inimigos do Rei:Laura Finocchiaro:Léo Jaime:Lobão:Moraes Moreira & Pepeu Gomes:Nenhum de Nós:Paulo Ricardo:Roupa Nova:Serguei:Sepultura:Supla:Titãs:Vid & Sangue Azul

Guns N' Roses's January 20 concert was their first ever with then new drummer Matt Sorum and keyboard player Dizzy Reed. George Michael's second concert, on January 27, the festival's closing day, featured his ex-Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley, who joined Michael for a few songs at the encore.

a-ha's performance is stated in the Guinness Book of Records as having the biggest paying audience for a single concert, approximately 195,000. [http://www.darsu.btinternet.co.uk/1991.htm] [http://www.a-ha.com/index.php?nf=1&id=2871&cat=470&status=framed]

Rock in Rio 3

The third "Rock in Rio" festival took place in 2001 and its seven nights were headlined, respectively, by Sting, R.E.M., Guns N' Roses, 'N Sync, Iron Maiden, Neil Young and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Iron Maiden recorded their set and released it as the live album Rock in Rio. The profits from the sale of the album were donated to the Clive Burr fund, which would help the former drummer pay mounting medical bills for treatment of his multiple sclerosis.

Another notable appearance at "Rock in Rio 3" was that of American hard-rock band Guns N' Roses, with a new line-up featuring guitarist Buckethead, original member Axl Rose (vocals), and longtime member Dizzy Reed (keyboards). Nick Oliveri, the bass player for Queens of the Stone Age performed in the nude for part of their set and was arrested for indecent exposure after the concert. Oliveri was released soon after.

Full list of artists who performed at Rock in Rio 3:

International Artists	Brazilian Artists
:5ive:Aaron Carter:Beck:Britney Spears:Dave Matthews Band:Deftones:Foo Fighters:Guns N' Roses:Halford:Iron Maiden:James Taylor:Neil Young:'N Sync:Oasis:Papa Roach:Queens of the Stone Age:Red Hot Chili Peppers:R.E.M.:Sting:Sheryl Crow:silverchair	:Barão Vermelho:Capital Inicial:Carlinhos Brown:Cássia Eller:Daniela Mercury:Diesel (now Udora):Elba Ramalho and Zé Ramalho:Engenheiros do Hawaii:Fernanda Abreu:Gilberto Gil:Ira!:Kid Abelha:Milton Nascimento:Moraes Moreira:Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira:O Surto:Pato Fu:Pavilhão 9:Sandy & Junior:Sheik Tosado:Sepultura:Ultraje a Rigor

Rock in Rio Lisboa

After the huge success of Rock in Rio 3 in Brazil, Roberto Medina decided to organize a festival of the same stature in Lisbon. The decision to maintain the name Rock in Rio was controversial, and detractors of the idea in Brazil started calling it "Rock in Rio Tejo" [http://www.planetanews.com/news/2004/10217] [http://peixenarede.blogspot.com/2006/03/rock-in-rio-s-se-for-rio-tejo.html] , after the Tagus ("Tejo" in Portuguese) river (rio, in Portuguese) which runs through the Portuguese capital.The first edition of Rock in Rio Lisboa, as the festival was officially called, took place in 2004. Although the festival had a slight change of name, it kept the same structure as the Brazilian editions. An entire "City of Rock", with an area of over 200,000 m² was erected at the Bela Vista park, with a large centre stage and several tents where different artists would perform, simultaneously.

Artists

*The Fšÿ Band
*Paul McCartney
*Gilberto Gil
*Rui Veloso
*Jet
*Ben Harper
*Peter Gabriel
*Seether
*Xutos e Pontapés
*Charlie Brown Jr.
*Kings Of Leon
*Evanescence
*Foo Fighters
*Moonspell
*Sepultura
*Slipknot
*Incubus
*Metallica
*Nuno Norte
*João Pedro Pais
*Sugababes
*Britney Spears
*The Black Eyed Peas
*Daniela Mercury
*Luís Represas
*Ivete Sangalo
*Alejandro Sanz
*Alicia Keys
*Sting
*Pedro Abrunhosa

Rock in Rio Lisboa 2

The second edition of Rock in Rio Lisboa was held in 2006, on 26/27 May and 2/3/4 June.

Artists

*Kill The Young
*Shakira
*Jamiroquai
*Ivete Sangalo
*D'ZRT
*Guns N' Roses
*The Darkness
*Xutos e Pontapés
*Pitty
*Roger Waters
*Carlos Santana
*Rui Veloso
*Jota Quest
*Red Hot Chili Peppers
*Da Weasel
*Kasabian
*Orishas
*Sting
*Anastacia
*Corinne Bailey Rae
*Marcelo D2

Rock In Rio Lisboa & Madrid (2008)

The third edition of Rock in Rio is taking place in Lisbon, Portugal, May 30-31 and June 1-5-6 and will be taking place in Arganda del Rey, Madrid, on the June 27-28 and July 4-5-6 in Madrid.

;Rock In Rio LisbonMay 30
* James Morrison (canceled)
*Paulo Gonzo
*Ivete Sangalo
*Amy Winehouse
*Lenny Kravitz (and Daniel R.)

May 31
*Skank
*Alanis Morissette
*Alejandro Sanz
*Bon Jovi

June 1
*Docemania
*Just Girls
*4 Taste
*Xutos & Pontapés
*Tokio Hotel
*Joss Stone
*Rod Stewart

June 5
*Metallica
*Machine Head
*Apocalyptica
*Moonspell

June 6
*Linkin Park
*The Offspring
*Muse
*Kaiser Chiefs
*Orishas

;Confirmed artists at Rock In Rio Madrid

June 27
*Alanis Morissette
*Jack Johnson
*Manolo García
*Neil Young

June 28
*Mando Diao
*El Canto Del Loco
*Tokio Hotel
*Carlinhos Brown

July 4
*Shakira
*Jamiroquai
*Amy Winehouse
* James Morrison

July 5
*The Police
*Alejandro Sanz
*Estopa
*Ivete Sangalo

July 6
*Lenny Kravitz
*Franz Ferdinand
*Chris Cornell
*Tiësto

External links

* [http://rockinrio-lisboa.sapo.pt Official Rock in Rio Lisboa website]
* [http://www.rockinriomadrid.com/ Official Rock in Rio Madrid website]
* [http://music.aol.com/network_live/concert_videos Videos from the 2006 edition of Rock in Rio Lisboa]