Rio Preps for Music Fest

R I O   D E   J A N E I R O, Jan. 9 -- Sixteen years after Brazil burstonto the global rock scene with its own version of Woodstock,promoters are rolling out a third edition of Rock in Rio andaiming to make it the world’s biggest music fest ever.

“Rock in Rio for a Better World,” as the show is beingbilled, will kick off on Friday in the tourist meccaof Rio de Janeiro with seven days of shows and such diverse actsas Red Hot Chile Peppers, R.E.M. and Britney Spears.

Promoters have booked 159 bands including 38 major nationaland international acts in a bid to lure some 1.5 million fansfrom Brazil and abroad.

“We want it to be an international party, a place wherepeople can listen to music but also get sensitized to the factthat we can improve the world,” said Roberto Medina, abusinessman and founder of the festival.

Critics say the mish-mash of musical styles could turn fansoff but promoters argue that acts are organized so each day willhave a different theme, ensuring that metal heads do not have tosit through hits like “Oops! I did it again!” by Spears.

The first Rock in Rio in January 1985, set the world recordas the biggest paying music festival in history with 1.38million people. About 450,000 fans flocked to Woodstock, N.Y., in 1969, and most of them got in for free.

Now, for $18, concertgoers can get into one day of shows atthe specially built “City of Rock” in a distant suburb of Rio —or they can spend $126 to attend all seven days. The shows willrun from Jan. 12-14 and Jan. 18-21.

“Rock in Rio has the most impressive lineup of talentanywhere in the world this year,” said Gary Bongiovanni, editorin chief of Pollstar, a concert industry trade publication inCalifornia.

Rio Rocks, Really

Better known on international stages for its bossa nova andsamba, Brazil is also a hotbed of rock — and Rock in Rio is thewhere it all got started.

The 1985 show came as the country shook off two decades ofdictatorship — a time when Brazil did not exist for foreigntouring bands. The festival highlighted the undiscovered salespotential in Brazil, the world’s fifth largest country, andhelped a slew of international bands launch their careers.