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.
Nine incarnations of the festival have been held in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991, 2001, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2022, nine in Lisbon, in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2022, 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 1.38 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.
In May 2018, Live Nation Entertainment acquired a majority stake in the festival (including from previous stakeholder SFX Entertainment), with Medina continuing to manage the festival's operations. Live Nation stated that it intended to "[integrate] their industry expertise" into their overall business.
In 2022, Lisbon hosted the 9th edition on several dates in June at Bela Vista Park. Rio de Janeiro hosted its edition on several dates in September.
History
Rio de Janeiro
Rock in Rio (1985)
The first edition of the festival was held from 11–20 January 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 1.38 million people attended the 10-day-long festival.
Rock in Rio in numbers
The City of Rock, which was built for the festival, covered an area of 250,000 m2 (around 2.7 million square feet)
1,600,000 litres of beverages were served, using 4 million plastic cups.
900,000 hamburgers.
500,000 pizza slices.
McDonald's sold 58,000 hamburgers in a single day, which was a Guinness World Record until the fourth edition in 2011, where 79,000 hamburgers were sold by Bob's.
The full list of artists who performed at Rock in Rio:
Both Queen shows were filmed (early on 12 and 19 January) and broadcast throughout Brazil by Globo. Each show was watched by nearly 200 million people in over 60 countries and in front of 250,000-500,000 people for each night setting a world record for the biggest paying audience ever at the time. It was later broadcast in the United States on MTV as "Queen: Live in Rio".
Iron Maiden was the only non-Brazilian act to play just one concert at the festival (on its opening night, headlined by Queen), due to other bookings, while every other international act performed twice. During the song "Revelations", lead singer Bruce Dickinson hit himself accidentally with a guitar and cut his eyebrow. Dickinson continued to sing in spite of heavy bleeding. They performed in front of a crowd of 500,000 people.
The Go-Go's broke up after their two Rock in Rio performances, (headlined by Queen and Rod Stewart) 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 concerts. They joined the band from the third song on and played along with them for the remainder of the performance.
The 20 January appearance of the B-52's would turn out to be their last with guitarist Ricky Wilson, who died from AIDS in October of that year as the band was finishing their next album.
Initially, Def Leppard was scheduled to play at the festival. However, they dropped out about two months before the event, due to delays on the recording process of the album Hysteria. Eleven days before the date Def Leppard would have played at the festival, drummer Rick Allen suffered an accident that cost him his left arm. They were replaced by Whitesnake, which happened to be the last touring date for the supporting Slide It In album tour.
Rock in Rio 2 (1991)
The second edition was held from 18–27 January 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 had top billing, for one night each. The third night, headlined by Guns N' Roses, attracted more than 100.000 people to the stadium, the biggest audience of the nine-day event.
A-ha broke the record for largest paying attendance at a concert with 198,000 fans in attendance.
Full list of artists who performed at Rock in Rio 2:
Guns N' Roses's 20 January concert was their first ever with then new drummer Matt Sorum and keyboard player Dizzy Reed. George Michael's second concert, on 27 January, the festival's closing day, featured his ex-Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley, who joined Michael for a few songs at the encore.
Rock in Rio 3 (2001)
The third Rock in Rio festival took place in 2001. 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.
Once O Rappa complained about their assigned time, as the contract predicted a night concert that wound up scheduled for 6:30 PM while the lesser known in the country Deftones remained in the evening, they were expelled, and five other Brazilian bands, Jota Quest, Raimundos, Charlie Brown Jr., Skank and Cidade Negra, withdrew from the festival in protest.
Iron Maiden released their set as Rock in Rio. Profits from the sale of the album were donated to the Clive Burr fund, helping their former drummer pay mounting medical bills for his multiple sclerosis.
A notable appearance at Rock in Rio 3 was that of American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, their first large show since 1993, with a new line-up featuring vocalist Axl Rose guitarists Buckethead, Robin Finck & Paul Tobias, bassist Tommy Stinson, drummer Brain and keyboardists Dizzy Reed & Chris Pitman.
Carlinhos Brown, the opening act on the day Guns N' Roses performed, was attacked by water bottles throughout his performance. Bassist Nick Oliveri of Queens of the Stone Age performed nude for part of their set and was arrested for indecent exposure after the concert, being released soon after.
Full list of artists who performed at Rock in Rio 3:
Rock in Rio 4 (2011)
The fourth edition of Rock in Rio, back to its origins, was held on 23, 24, 25, 29 and 30 September, and 1 and 2 October 2011, at an area (pt) to be built next to the old City of Rock – which is currently the site of the Olympic Village of the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Three different stages were employed, with the headlining concerts at the Palco Mundo (World Stage), the secondary ones in Palco Sunset (Sunset Stage), and DJs playing at a specialized stage for electronic music. The closing acts, Guns N' Roses and System of a Down, entered following a poll on the festival's website. Maroon 5 was a last hour addition, following Jay-Z leaving for personal reasons.
Full list of artists who performed at Rock in Rio 4:
09/23 Friday
Palco Mundo: Rihanna, Elton John, Katy Perry, Claudia Leitte, opening concert with Os Paralamas do Sucesso, Titãs, Milton Nascimento, Maria Gadú and the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra
Palco Sunset: Móveis Coloniais de Acaju, Orkestra Rumpilezz, Mariana Aydar, Bebel Gilberto, Sandra de Sá, Ed Motta, Rui Veloso, Andreas Kisser, The Asteroids Galaxy Tour, The Gift
09/24 Saturday
Palco Mundo: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snow Patrol, Capital Inicial, Stone Sour, NX Zero
Palco Mundo: Metallica, Slipknot, Motörhead, Coheed and Cambria, Gloria
Palco Sunset: Matanza, BNegão (pt), Korzus, The Punk Metal Allstars (East Bay Ray from Dead Kennedys, Mike Clark Suicidal Tendencies, João Gordo from Ratos de Porão and Marcel Schmier from Destruction), Angra, Sepultura, Tarja Turunen, Les Tambours du Bronx
09/29 Thursday
Palco Mundo: Stevie Wonder, Jamiroquai, Kesha, Janelle Monáe, Legião Urbana with Brazilian Symphonic Orchestra
Palco Sunset: Marcelo Jeneci, Curumin, Baile do Simonal, Diogo Nogueira, Afrika Bambaataa, Paula Lima, Joss Stone
Palco Mundo: Guns N' Roses, System of a Down, Evanescence, Detonautas Roque Clube, Pitty
Palco Sunset: The Monomes, David Fonseca, Os Mutantes, Tom Zé, Titãs, Xutos & Pontapés, Marcelo Camelo, The Growlers
Eletrônica Palco: Nalaya Brown
Rock in Rio 5 (2013)
Rock in Rio 5 was held in September 2013. The headline acts, chronologically, were: Beyoncé, Muse, Justin Timberlake, Metallica, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen and Iron Maiden.
Friday 13 September
Palco Mundo: Beyoncé, David Guetta, Ivete Sangalo, Cazuza - O Poeta Está Vivo
Palco Sunset: Ben Harper + Charlie Musselwhite, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals + Donavon Frankenreiter, Mallu Magalhães + Banda Ouro Negro, The Gift + Afroreggae
Eletrônica: Paul Oakenfold, Dexterz, Rodrigo Vieira, Ferris
Saturday 21 September
Palco Mundo: Bruce Springsteen, John Mayer, Phillip Phillips, Skank
Palco Sunset: Gogol Bordello + Lenine, Ivo Meirelles + Fernanda Abreu + Elba Ramalho, Moraes Moreira + Pepeu Gomes + Roberta Sá, Orquestra Imperial + Lorenzo Jovanotti
Eletrônica: Loco Dice, DJ Vibe, Guti, Flow & Zeo
Sunday 22 September
Palco Mundo: Iron Maiden, Avenged Sevenfold, Slayer, Kiara Rocks
Palco Sunset: Sepultura + Zé Ramalho, Helloween + Kai Hansen, Destruction + Krisiun, Andre Matos + Viper
Eletrônica: Felguk, DJ Marky, Maximum Hedrum, Boteco Electro
Rock in Rio 6 (2015)
The sixth Brazilian edition was held from 18 to 27 September 2015 at the City of Rock. The headliners were Queen + Adam Lambert, Metallica, Rod Stewart, Elton John, System of a Down, Slipknot, Rihanna and Katy Perry.
Friday 18 September
Palco Mundo: Queen + Adam Lambert, OneRepublic, The Script, Rock in Rio 30 Anos
Palco Sunset: Tribute to Cássia Eller, Lenine + Nação Zumbi + Martin Fondse, Ira! + Rappin' Hood and Tony Tornado, Dônica + Arthur Verocai
Eletrônica: DJ Meme, Kerry Chandler, Barbara Tucker, Tribute to Lincoln Olivetti, Tribute to Raul Seixas
Saturday 19 September
Palco Mundo: Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Royal Blood, Gojira
Palco Sunset: Korn, Ministry + Burton C. Bell, Angra + Dee Snider + Doro Pesch, Noturnall + Michael Kiske
Eletrônica: Crookers, Headhunterz, Tropkillaz, A Liga, Chemical Surf
Sunday 20 September
Palco Mundo: Rod Stewart, Elton John, Seal, Os Paralamas do Sucesso
Palco Sunset: John Legend, Magic!, Baby do Brasil, Alice Caymmi + Eumir Deodato
Eletrônica: Matador, Pig and Dan, Gui Boratto, Flow & Zeo ft. Karina Zeviani, Elekfantz
Thursday 24 September
Palco Mundo: System of a Down, Queens of the Stone Age, Hollywood Vampires, CPM 22
Palco Sunset: Deftones, Lamb of God, Halestorm, Project46 + John Wayne
Eletrônica: Vintage Culture, Anderson Noise + Mau Mau + Renato Cohen, 2 Attack (Paula Chalup + Mau Mau)
Friday 25 September
Palco Mundo: Slipknot, Faith No More, Mastodon, De La Tierra
Palco Sunset: Steve Vai + Camerata Florianópolis, Nightwish + Tony Kakko, Moonspell + Derrick Green, Clássicos do Terror
Palco Mundo: Rihanna, Sam Smith, Sheppard, Lulu Santos
Palco Sunset: Sérgio Mendes + Carlinhos Brown, Angélique Kidjo, Erasmo Carlos + Ultraje a Rigor, Brothers of Brazil
Eletrônica: Matthias Tanzmann + Davide Squillace, DJ Vibe + Rui Vargas, Leo Janeiro + Leozinho, Conti + Mandi
Sunday 27 September
Palco Mundo: Katy Perry, A-ha, AlunaGeorge, Cidade Negra
Palco Sunset: Rio 450 Anos, Al Jarreau, Aurea + Boss AC, Suricato + Raul Midón
Eletrônica: Life is a Loop, Diego Miranda + Rodrigo Shà, Ely Yabu, Amanda Chang
Rock in Rio 7 (2017)
The seventh Brazilian edition was held in the City of Rock from 15 to 24 September 2017. The headliners were Maroon 5, Justin Timberlake, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses, The Who, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Singer Lady Gaga was scheduled to perform on 15 September, but had to cancel 24 hours before due to fibromyalgia. Maroon 5 performed a second concert due to her absence. Shawn Mendes and 5 Seconds of Summer also performed.
Rock in Rio 8 (2019)
The eight Brazilian edition was held from 27 September to 6 October 2019. It marked the first performance of singer Pink in Latin America
Rock in Rio 9 (2022)
The ninth edition of the Rock in Rio in Brazil took place between 2–11 September 2022.
Lisbon, Portugal, and Madrid, Spain
Rock in Rio Lisboa (2004)
After the huge success of Rock in Rio 3 in Brazil, Roberta 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, after the Tagus river (rio Tejo, 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 260,000 audience was erected at the Bela Vista park, with a large centre stage and several tents where different artists would perform, simultaneously.
Full list of artists who performed at Rock in Rio Lisboa:
Rock in Rio Lisboa 2 (2006)
The second edition of Rock in Rio Lisboa was held in 2006, on 26/27 May and 2/3/4 June.
05/27 Friday
Shakira
Jamiroquai
Ivete Sangalo
D'ZRT
05/28 Saturday
Guns N' Roses
The Darkness
Xutos e Pontapés
Pitty
06/02 Friday
Roger Waters
Santana
Rui Veloso
Jota Quest
06/03 Saturday
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Da Weasel
Kasabian
Orishas
06/04 Sunday
Sting
Anastacia
Corinne Bailey Rae
Marcelo D2
Rock in Rio Lisboa & Madrid (2008)
The third edition of Rock in Rio took place in Lisbon, Portugal, on 30 May 31 and 1 June and 5–6. The dates for Arganda del Rey, Madrid, were 27 June 28 and 4–6 July.
Rock in Rio Lisboa 3
30 May
Paulo Gonzo
Ivete Sangalo
Amy Winehouse
Lenny Kravitz (and Daniel R.)
31 May
Skank
Alanis Morissette
Alejandro Sanz
Bon Jovi
1 June
Docemania
Just Girls
4 Taste
Xutos & Pontapés
Tokio Hotel
Joss Stone
Rod Stewart
5 June
Metallica
Machine Head
Apocalyptica
Moonspell
6 June
Linkin Park
The Offspring
Muse
Kaiser Chiefs
Orishas
Rock in Rio Madrid
27 June
Alanis Morissette
Jack Johnson
Manolo García
Neil Young
28 June
Mando Diao
El Canto Del Loco
Tokio Hotel
Carlinhos Brown
4 July
Shakira
Jamiroquai
Amy Winehouse
Stereophonics
5 July
The Police
Alejandro Sanz
Estopa
Ivete Sangalo
6 July
Lenny Kravitz
Franz Ferdinand
Chris Cornell
Tiësto
Rock in Rio Lisboa & Madrid (2010)
Rock in Rio Lisboa 4
21 May / 82.000
Shakira
John Mayer
Ivete Sangalo
Mariza
22 May / 45.000
Elton John
Trovante
Leona Lewis
2 MANY DJS LIVE
João Pedro Pais
27 May / 85.000
Muse
Snow Patrol
Xutos & Pontapés
Fonzie (replaced Sum 41)
Sum 41 (canceled)
29 May / 88.000
Miley Cyrus
McFly
D'ZRT
Amy Macdonald
30 May / 38.000
Rammstein
Motörhead
Megadeth
Soulfly
Rock in Rio Madrid 2
4 June / 51.000
Bon Jovi
Paul van Dyk
Mägo de Oz (replaced John Mayer)
John Mayer (canceled)
5 June / 90.000
Shakira
Rihanna
Calle 13
David Guetta
6 June / 40.000
Miley Cyrus
McFly
Amy Macdonald
11 June / 30.000
Rage Against the Machine
Jane's Addiction
Cypress Hill
Tiësto
14 June / 48.000
Metallica
Motörhead
Sôber
Marillion
Rock in Rio Lisboa & Madrid (2012)
Rock in Rio Lisboa 5
5/25 Friday
Palco Mundo: Metallica, Evanescence, Mastodon, Sepultura, Tambours Du Bronx
Palco Sunset: Kreator + Andreas Kisser, Mão Morta + Pedro Laginha, Ramp + Teratron
Eletrónica Heineken: Chase and Status, DJ Set & Rage, Dr Lectroluv, Life is a Loop, Leo Janeiro, Tha lovely Bastards (Mad Mac and Nuno Lopes), Bis Boys Please, MC Johnny Def
Rock Street:
5/26 Saturday
Palco Mundo: Linkin Park, Smashing Pumpkins, The Offspring, Limp Bizkit
Palco Sunset: Boss Ac & Zé Ricardo + Paula Lima, Orelha Negra + Hyldon + Kassin, Black Mamba & Tiago Bettencourt
Eletrónica Heineken: Jamie Jones, Maceo Plex, Dyed Soundorom, Kings of Swingers (Renato Rathier + Mau Mau), Magazino, José Belo + Zé Salvador, MC Johnny Def
Rock Street:
6/2 Saturday
Palco Mundo: Stevie Wonder, Bryan Adams, Joss Stone, The Gift
Palco Sunset: Luis Represas & Joao Gil & Jorge Palma, Amor Electro & Moska, Ana Free + The Monomes
Eletrónica Heineken: Masters at Work (Louie Vega + Kenny Dope Gonzales), The Martinez Brothers, JohnWaynes Live DJ, Miguel Rendeiro, DJ Poppy, MC Johnny Def
Rock Street:
6/3 Sunday
Palco Mundo: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Xutos & Pontapés, James, Kaiser Chiefs
Eletrónica Heineken: DJ Harvey, DJ Vibe, Dop Live, DJ Dixon, Stereo Addiction, Mc Johnny Def
Rock Street:
Rock in Rio Madrid 3
6/30 Saturday
Maná, Lenny Kravitz, Luciano, Macaco
7/5 Thursday
Rihanna (canceled), Swedish House Mafia, Calvin Harris
7/6 Friday — "Noche Electrónica"
David Guetta, Pitbull, Erick Morillo, Pete Tong, Afrojack, Wally Lopez, Martin Solveig
7/7 Saturday
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Incubus, Gogol Bordello, Deadmau5
Rock in Rio Lisboa 6 (2014)
Rock in Rio Lisboa 7 (2016)
Rock in Rio Lisboa 8 (2018)
24 June sold out almost three months prior to the festival.
Rock in Rio Lisboa 9 (2022)
The festival was originally set to take place in June 2020, but was postponed to 2021 and again to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Las Vegas
Rock in Rio USA (2015)
"Rock in Rio USA" was the first North American edition of the festival, being held in Las Vegas on 8, 9, 15 and 16 May 2015. The festival took place on two weekends, oriented towards rock and pop music. Rock Weekend took place on 8 and 9 May, and Pop Weekend took place on 15 and 16 May. It took place in the City of Rock (Las Vegas), located north of the Las Vegas Strip.
Friday 8 May
Main Stage: No Doubt, Maná, The Pretty Reckless, Smallpools, Cirque du Soleil
Mercedes-Benz Evolution Stage: Foster the People, Gary Clark, Jr., Theophilus London, Saints of Valory
EDM Stage: AN21, Ftampa, Wax Motif, MVTH
Saturday 9 May
Main Stage: Metallica, Linkin Park, Rise Against, Hollywood Undead
Mercedes-Benz Evolution Stage: Deftones, Sepultura featuring Steve Vai, Coheed & Cambria, Of Mice & Men
EDM Stage: Alok, Caked Up, The Gaslamp Killer, Felguk
Friday 15 May
Main Stage: Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Echosmith, Ivete Sangalo
Mercedes-Benz Evolution Stage: Jessie J, Charli XCX, Tove Lo, James Bay
EDM Stage: DJ Vibe, Lovefingers, Renato Ratier, Behrouz
Live broadcasts
The TV Globo Networks broadcast selected Rock in Rio concerts in Brazil, with cable affiliate Multishow broadcasting live concerts. In Nigeria, TNT and A&E broadcasts the festival live.
In Portugal, Rock in Rio Lisboa is broadcast by SIC Radical.