- Title: BRAZIL: THE THIRD ROCK IN RIO MUSIC FESTIVAL TAKES PLACE OVER SEVEN DAYS
- Date: 12th January 2001
- Summary: (JANUARY 12, 2001) (REUTERS) VARIOUS, AUDIENCE APPLAUDING
- Embargoed: 27th January 2001 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
- Country: Brazil
- Topics: Entertainment,General
- Reuters ID: LVA5VL65QZMDKMZKWPI5H81DJPSB
- Story Text: If you are too young to have emotional ties with James Taylor, too old to sing along with teen idol Britney Spears and too mellow for the metalheads of Iron Maiden, then it is time to migrate to the fringe of the Rock in Rio music megafestival.
On the perimeter of the specially built City of Rock, those who snub the main stage can trip on a hot Finnish band, a jam-packed electronic music tent where youths dance in underwear and a debate between religious leaders on "Faith and Spirituality."
The something-for-everyone mishmash is the organizers' strategy to make the third edition of Rock in Rio -- the so-called Brazilian Woodstock -- the world's biggest paying music festival ever, with an estimated 1.5 million visitors during seven days.
Rock in Rio, the seven-day music festival started on Friday (January 12) with three minutes of silence to contemplate peace, but cranked up the volume when legendary rocker Sting took the stage a few hours before sunrise.
Thousands of fans converged on the specially built City of Rock in western Rio waving white handkerchiefs and singing along as the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra played "Imagine" by John Lennon.
On Friday (January 12), popular Brazilian singers Gilberto Gil, Milton Nascimento and Daniela Mercury started the public rocking, but veteran Sting, 49, stole the spotlight when he closed the show.
On Saturday (January 13), Day 2, an estimated 200,000 people flocked to the City of Rock to see big names like R.E.M. and Beck. But between the big acts and even during them, many in the grass field rushed from the main stage over to the alternative "tents" for something completely different.
Rock in Rio closed its first weekend on Sunday (January 15) with Papa Roach and Oasis on the main stage.
Feel-good marketing and a lineup that includes some of the world's hottest recording artists are expected to draw some
5 million fans from across South America to the $36 million show called "Rock in Rio for a Better World," making it the biggest paying music festival ever.
Some 16 years ago, the first Rock in Rio set a record with
38 million people. Only about 450,000 fans flocked to Woodstock, New York, in 1969.
The festival runs from Jan. 12-14 and from Jan. 18-21 and features a wide range of musical genres and a diverse group of acts, including Britney Spears, Neil Young and Iron Maiden.
Promoters booked 139 bands, including 38 major national and international acts, for the festival. The event is sponsored by America Online AOL.N> and will be aired on satellite broadcaster DirecTV and on Warner Bros. channels.
Teen sensations 'N Sync and Spears, scheduled for next Thursday (January 18), have been the star sellers, followed by Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Organizers say they will donate 5 percent of sales to a Brazilian anti-violence group and U.N.-sponsored projects. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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