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 26th and June 1st,
2 and 3rd.
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
26th, 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
1st, 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 3rd,
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.
Over 350
thousand people were present, and Rock in Rio will be presented once again in
Portugal, at the same Parque Bela Vista, in 2014.
Posted by Naya.
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