Rock Madness Sweeps Rio

January 11 -- The festival is called Rock in Rio for a Better World — but the pathway to one of the world's largest rock festivals includes rock star prima donnas, bruised egos, and more than a million music fans braving the sweltering heat of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in midsummer.

The festival kicks off tomorrow, and before the Jan. 21 conclusion it will showcase 159 bands, including Guns N' Roses, R.E.M., Britney Spears, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Oasis, Beck, and 'N Sync.

"We want it to be an international party, a place where people can listen to music but also get sensitized to the fact that we can improve the world," said Roberto Medina, a businessman and founder of the festival.

Critics say the mish-mash of musical styles could turn fans off, but promoters argue that acts are organized so each day will have a different theme, which means headbangers with a soft spot for "Bye, Bye, Bye" are plum out of luck.

The first Rock in Rio, in January 1985, set the world record as the biggest paying music festival in history, with 1.38 million people attending. The show helped reopen the Brazilian rock scene — and rock market — to the rest of the world, after years of dictatorship. The second festival, held in 1991 at the giant Maracana soccer stadium rather than an open field, lured a much smaller 700,000 fans over seven days at an event headlined by Prince, Santana, and Guns N' Roses.

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

"Rock in Rio has the most impressive lineup of talent anywhere in the world this year," said Gary Bongiovanni, editor in chief of concert industry magazine Pollstar.

As rock stars converge on Rio de Janeiro, reports are already surfacing about their excesses: British music magazine NME writes that Guns N' Roses have been most extravagant in their demands, renting an entire floor of the five-star Intercontinental Hotel, with frontman Axl Rose securing the 185-square-meter Presidential Suite, complete with ocean view and a Jacuzzi, which he has requested to be filled with roses and champagne.