The midlife crisis seems to be passing us by. The Rock in Rio music festival, which claims to be the largest in Latin America, kicked off this Friday in Rio de Janeiro with four decades behind it and in top form. In seven days it expects to bring together some 700,000 spectators with such attractions as Travis Scott, Ed Sheeran, Karol G, Katy Perry, Shawn Mendes, Imagine Dragons, Avenged Sevenfold, Ed Sheeran, Gloria Gaynor and Mariah Carey. For many of the attendees, the line-up (there are almost 200 artists) is actually the least of it: the festival has established itself as a mecca of total entertainment. The rock that predominated in the first editions has given way to other genres, and the hooligan pioneering of the beginnings has become a feast for sponsors, who fight to inject money into a giant event that never stops growing.
The story of Rock in Rio, which was born in Brazil with the re-democratization, is above all a story of business success. The South American giant was emerging from the lethargy of the military dictatorship (1964-1985) when a bold publicist, Roberto Medina, had the crazy idea of organizing a festival with foreign bands, something absolutely exceptional at that time in the region. The greats of English-language music rarely came to South America. It was not easy to convince them: it received 70 million euros in the festival. it’s not In response, but based on insistence, contacts and a nice checkbook, he managed to close a poster for the first edition in January 1985 with Queen, Iron Maiden, Rod Stewart, Ozzy Osbourne, Scorpions, AC/DC, Yes, George Benson and James Taylor.
It was a leap into the dark. The authorities seized the works four days before the opening and the venue, a vacant lot with a huge stage and little else, became a quagmire in which 1.3 million souls splashed happily. Those who attended remember it as chaos and wonder at the same time. Freddie Mercury leading a singing crowd Love of my life It was one of the most memorable moments. Brazil entered the international circuit show business and the local youth said “hello” to the world in a state of turmoil: in the middle of the festival, on January 15, 1985, Tancredo Neves was elected president of Brazil in the recently restored democracy.
Thirty years later, in 2015, the landscape was very different: supposed remains of that iconic mud from the first year were sold as souvenirs for the equivalent of 45 dollars. The veterans did not miss the opportunity to proclaim that Rock in Rio is no longer what it was and other expected nostalgic laments. It is true that it has changed radically, but it lives its metamorphosis with peace of mind: “We have gone from one to seven stages, from a Rock City dedicated to music to a city dedicated to entertainment. The festival has become a great theme park for music and caters to an increasingly wider range of generations,” commented its vice president, Roberta Medina, daughter of the founder. Under a scorching sun, Medina walked back and forth in the dress rehearsal held three days before the concerts began, supervising that everything was in order.
It is no easy task. To begin with, the site, which occupies the Olympic park of the 2016 Games and surrounding land, has 385,000 square meters and is dotted with attractions (Ferris wheel, zip line, roller coaster…), cardboard sets that imitate buildings such as the White House, La Pedrera or the Taj Mahal, 800 food outlets and, above all, dozens of enormous standswith several floors, viewing platforms and VIP lounges for the sponsoring brands. As it has grown, Rock in Rio has become a giant catch-all where everything fits.
Rock, accompanying the decline of the music industry, is almost symbolic and reserved for the old glories. But that recurring complaint is now more than overcome. Also the one that national music was relegated to the background. Almost all the big names in Brazilian music have passed through here, and in recent years it has opened up to genres previously subtly banned, such as funk carioca (Anitta performed on the main stage in 2019). This year, for the first time, the festival is paying tribute to the most listened to genre in Brazil today, the sertanejo, a kind of country Brazilian, with legends like the duo Chitãozinho and Xororó and young bestsellers like Ana Castela. “We are proud to be a mainstream festival,” Medina sums up simply, and it seems that he has already made the most of the criticisms of the purists.
His father, the founder, often explains that Rock in Rio has survived all these years because it was not the idea of a music lover, but of a marketing expert. He knew he had a product with potential and he made the most of it. The brand became international in 2004 with a version of the festival in Lisbon, where it is still held, alternating with Rio, one year in each city. There were also one-off editions in Madrid and Las Vegas, and since last year the Medinas have replicated the format that was born in Rio in São Paulo, but with another name, The Town, so as not to offend sensibilities.
These days, Rio is packed with tourists and the hotels are full. According to the organizers, the festival generates 32,600 jobs and an economic impact of 2.9 billion reais (more than 520 million dollars). But the Medina family is not stopping and has even more ambitious plans, to turn the giant concert venue into a permanent theme park, with resorts, shops, restaurants, a 40,000-seat amphitheater and ice skating rinks. It will be called Imagine, in homage to the John Lennon classic, and is scheduled to open its doors in 2028. The local authorities are delighted with life and do not put a stop to Mr. Medina’s dreams of grandeur. The Midas of entertainment is on the way.
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