''Rock in Rio,'' World's Greatest Rock Music Extravaganza, Set For Rio,
Starting Jan. 12; AOL To Sponsor
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Sep 11, 2000 (ENTERTAINMENT WIRE) -- Move over
Woodstock, the world's greatest rock music event, "Rock in Rio for a Better
World," is set to start Jan. 12 thru 21, 2001, in Rio de Janeiro, it was
announced today by Brazilian impresario Roberto Medina at a press conference in
Beverly Hills.
Media giant AOL (America on Line), which recently launched a Portuguese-language
site in Brazil, will be the mega event's main sponsor, and will host a series of
cyber "spaces" in which concert attendees can "communicate with the world," said
Medina.
This third edition has been titled "Rock in Rio For A Better World" and will
benefit Viva Rio, the preeminent social services organization in Rio for young
people.
Medina, who got his first taste for international show business in 1980 when he
brought Frank Sinatra to Brazil for a first ever concert there, created the
maiden event in 1985. That was followed by a second version in 1991, which
attracted 700,000 people and over 500 million worldwide TV viewers and featured
such international music stars as Guns `N Roses, Santana, Queen, George Michael,
Run DMC, Megadeth, Billy Idol and Joe Cocker.
"Rock in Rio for a Better World" will feature some 40 international and
Brazilian artists and bands, performing on three massive stages in a festival
area west of central Rio de Janeiro that is being designed to accommodate over
two million people, 50 stores, beer gardens, multiple restaurants, rock climbing
and skate boarding rinks, a multi-media pavilion, programming lectures,
demonstrations and discussions on world peace, a world music pavilion featuring
international dance troupes and companies, heliports and an elaborate public
transportation system. Sensational circus acts and DJs from around the world
will also be featured among the event's many performing venues.
So big is the event that its promoters are creating 1.9 million t-shirts for
attendees and a single McDonald's location expects to flip upwards of 60,000
hamburgers a day. Other food vendors are bracing to sell 900,000 sandwiches and
500,000 slices of pizza.
"Without sounding too boastful, the upcoming `Rock in Rio' event will be the
biggest gathering yet for any music event, anywhere in the world," said the
Rio-based Medina, owner of the country's largest advertising company.
"What makes it unique are its size and scope. `Rock in Rio' is more than a
widely diverse music fest, it's a cultural happening encompassing many facets of
life, all for the cause of making the world a better place," added Medina.
At the kick off of "Rock in Rio For A Better World" on Jan. 12, all of the
television stations in Brazil will simultaneously go silent for three minutes to
draw attention to the event and the cause for which it was created.
In addition to broadcast coverage in Brazil, Medina plans to license coverage in
over 50 countries, attracting a potential, international audience of over 500
million people.
CONTACT: The Lee Solters Co.
Lee Solters/Jerry Digney/Raul Rojas, 323/651-9300
solterspr1@aol.com
URL: businesswire.com
Today's News On The Net - Business Wire's full file on the Internet
with Hyperlinks to your home page.
Copyright (C) 2000 Business Wire. All rights reserved.
-0-
KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA BRAZIL INTERNATIONAL LATIN AMERICA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: ENTERTAINMENT
MUSIC
INTERNET
TELEVISION/RADIO
*** end of story *** |
