Rock In Rio - Lisbon 2012

Rock in Rio is the largest music event in the world, having been presented already ten times, in Brazil, Portugal and Spain. Throughout the years, more than 6 million people have been to Rock in Rio. Its place of origin was Brazil, in 1985. Presented for the fist time in Rio de Janeiro, it already started with massive international repercussion, given the number of worldwide famous bands presenting at the event. The first edition outside of Brazil was the one in 2004, the first one in Lisbon, Portugal.

Rock in Rio’s goal isn’t limited only to the musical aspect. It’s partnership with POR UM MUNDO MELHOR project, which started in 2001, in Rio de Janeiro, aiming to make relevant social causes known to the public. The main objective of the campaigns used to be the improvement of social conditions and collective actions, which would be achieved by simply changing certain day-by-day attitudes and adapting them to the world needs. However, after 2006 the range of the campaigns changed to a broader one, and the main focus was to develop environmental-friendly conditions, not forgetting about the social problems.

Recently, in may, 2012, another edition of Rock in Rio was presented, once again in Lisbon, at Parque Bela Vista, in May 25 and 26^th and June 1^st, 2 and 3^rd.

Keeping the tradition, many famous artists and bands performed through the concert days, including Metallica, Evanescence, Sepultura, The Offspring, Maroon 5, Stevie Wonder, and many others.

To ensure the performance of so many bands, the event’s infra-structure had enormous proportions, and many stages set in the Rock City. That way, there could be many bands performing at the same time, one not interfering with the other. There were World Stage, presenting the most famous bands who played in Rock in Rio; Sunset Stage, in which each concert consisted in two bands performing together and mixing their music, all that during the sunset, every day; Heineken Electronic, which mimics a nightclub, sponsored by Heineken and featuring DJs from all over the world; Rock Street, for the first time in Rock in Rio, a large space with stores and where less-known bands and street artists performed; and Street Dance, spot reserved for street dancers.

The first day of events had its space given to heavy metal. The most expected performance was Metallica’s, which attracted the largest part of the crowd at World Stage (approximately 76%). They revisited their famous “black album” and played other many songs, and they shared the stage with Mastodon, who played right after.

At Sunset Stage, the remarkable combination of the day was Andreas Kisser and Kreator, bringing more heavy metal to the event.

During the first two days of Rock in Rio, Rock Street had the largest crowds and great public acceptance. Throughout the day, before the night concerts began, Bug project managed to create great interaction between musicians, artists and the public, making the entry of Rock Street in Rock in Rio a remarkable one.

In the second day of the first weekend, Saturday, May 26^th, Linkin Park and The Smashing Pumpkins were the main events, and Nobody’s Bizzness finished the day with its bluesy music.

Not only were there musical attractions, but the crowd had at its disposal a space similar to an amusement park, and it was really successful. Only in the first weekend, over seven thousand people rode Santa Casa’s rollercoaster, over ten thousand rode Millennium and Embratur’s Ferris Wheel, and over 800 people were at Pepsi’s slide.

Making justice to one of the event’s goals, which is making social programs public, the campaign Eu Vou de Bicicleta (I’ll go by bike) brought innumerous bike-riding spectators to the Rock City, and worked as motivation for the future, a motivation for using bicycles and other environmental-friendly means of transportation instead of the harmful cars. Noticeable, also, was the effort of Obra Nazareno organization, which, in a coordinated effort with Casa do Marquês restaurant, donated 120 meals to poor families at Marvila slum. Another environment-related effort was the due recycling of over 50% of all residue produced.

In general, few incidents regarding health and security were reported, nothing but some headaches, dehydration and alcohol excess-related problems, as well as a few small head-on conflicts and attempts of intrusion.

The third day of events was the following Friday, June 1^st, and opened the second weekend of Rock in Rio. The musical highlights at World Stage were Lenny Kravitz, returning to Portugal after 4 years; Ivete Sangalo, who brought a great concentration of Brazilians to the event; and the last concert of the night, Maroon 5, for the first time in Portugal. Heineken Electronic went on until 4 A.M. and opened the fourth day of Rock in Rio - Lisbon.

The stages at Saturday night were occupied by veterans Stevie Wonder (20 years after his first and only concert in Portugal) and Bryan Adams, the young but already famous Joss Stone, and many others. Sunset Stage and Electronic Heineken kept going on schedule with more interesting mixtures and nightclub DJs, respectively.

Rock in Rio – Lisbon 2012 ended with Bruce Springsteen concert, at Sunday, June 3^rd, night, and was one of the most remarkable and commented of all days of event. Sunset Stage’s last performances were combinations of Brazilian and Portuguese musicians, bringing performances by Erasmo Carlos with Rui Veloso, and Mallu Magalhães with David Fonseca.