Rock in Rio (1985)

Queen performing in 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.^[2]

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.^[6]

The full list of artists who performed at Rock in Rio:

01/11 Friday Queen Iron Maiden Whitesnake Baby Consuelo e Pepeu Gomes Erasmo Carlos Ney Matogrosso 01/12 Saturday George Benson James Taylor Al Jarreau Gilberto Gil Elba Ramalho Ivan Lins 01/13 Sunday Rod Stewart The Go-Go's Nina Hagen Blitz Lulu Santos Os Paralamas do Sucesso

01/14 Monday James Taylor George Benson Alceu Valença Moraes Moreira 01/15 Tuesday AC/DC Scorpions Barão Vermelho Eduardo Dusek Kid Abelha e os Abóboras Selvagens 01/16 Wednesday Rod Stewart Ozzy Osbourne Rita Lee Moraes Moreira Os Paralamas do Sucesso 01/17 Thursday Yes Al Jarreau Elba Ramalho Alceu Valença

01/18 Friday Queen The Go-Go's The B-52's (with Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth) Lulu Santos Eduardo Dusek Kid Abelha e os Abóboras Selvagens 01/19 Saturday AC/DC Scorpions Ozzy Osbourne Whitesnake Baby Consuelo e Pepeu Gomes Aerial sepia image of the first Rock in Rio, Sunday 1985, Blitz on stage 01/20 Sunday Yes The B-52's (with Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth) Nina Hagen Blitz Gilberto Gil Barão Vermelho Erasmo Carlos

• 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".^[7]
• 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.^[8] 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.^[9][10]

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.

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.^[11]

Carlinhos Brown, the opening act on the day Guns N' Roses performed, was attacked by water bottles throughout his performance.^[12] 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 Palco Mundo (World Stage) at the Rock in Rio 4

The Rock Street at the Rock in Rio 4

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.^[13] 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:^[14][15]

• 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 Sunset: Marcelo Yuka (pt), Cibelle, Karina Buhr, Amora Pêra (Sandra Pêra), Tulipa Ruiz, Nação Zumbi, Milton Nascimento, Esperanza Spalding, Mike Patton/Mondo Cane, Orquestra Sinfônica de Heliópolis
• 09/25 Sunday
  • 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
• 09/30 Friday
  • Palco Mundo: Shakira, Lenny Kravitz, Ivete Sangalo, Jota Quest, Marcelo D2
  • Palco Sunset: Buraka Som Sistema, Mixhell, Céu, João Donato, Cidade Negra, Martinho da Vila, Emicida, Monobloco, Macaco, Pepeu Gomes
• 10/1 Saturday
  • Palco Mundo: Coldplay, Maroon 5, Maná, Skank, Frejat
  • Palco Sunset: Cidadão Instigado (pt), Júpiter Maçã, Tiê, Jorge Drexler, Zeca Baleiro, Erasmo Carlos, Arnaldo Antunes
• 10/2 Sunday
  • 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,^[16][17] Muse, Justin Timberlake, Metallica, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen and Iron Maiden.^[18]

• Friday 13 September
• Palco Mundo: Beyoncé, David Guetta, Ivete Sangalo, Cazuza - O Poeta Está Vivo
• Palco Sunset: Living Colour + Angélique Kidjo, Maria Rita + Selah Sue, Vintage Trouble + Jesuton, Flávio Renegado + Orelha Negra
  • Eletrônica: Otto Knows, Life Is A Loop, Ask 2 Quit, Sweet Beats
• Saturday 14 September
• Palco Mundo: Muse, Florence and the Machine, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Capital Inicial
• Palco Sunset: The Offspring, Viva A Raul Seixas – C/ Detonautas Roque Clube, Zeca Baleiro & Zélia Ducan, Marky Ramone + Michael Graves, BNegão + Autoramas
  • Eletrônica: TBA, TBA, Anderson Noise, Mau Mau, Paula Chulap
• Sunday 15 September
• Palco Mundo: Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, Jessie J, Jota Quest
• Palco Sunset: Ivan Lins + George Benson, Kimbra + Olodum, Nando Reis + Samuel Rosa, Aurea + The Black Samba
  • Eletrônica: DJ Harvey, dOP, Renato Ratier, Triple Crown
• Thursday 19 September
• Palco Mundo: Metallica, Alice in Chains, Ghost, Sepultura + Les Tambours du Bronx
• Palco Sunset: Rob Zombie, República + Dr. Sin + Roy Z, Sebastian Bach, Almah + Hibria
  • Eletrônica: Gesaffelstein, Brodinski, The Gaslamp Killer, DJ Ride
• Friday 20 September
• Palco Mundo: Bon Jovi, Nickelback, Matchbox Twenty, Frejat
• 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
  • Eletrônica: Alok, Felguk, Marcelo Cic, Volkoder, Hnqo
• Saturday 26 September
  • 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.^[19]

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,^[20][21] 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:

Roger Waters in Rock in Rio Lisbon

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 & Madrid (2010)

Rock in Rio Lisboa & Madrid (2012)

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.^[30]

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.^[31]

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: Heidi Lawden, Valida, Jeniluv, Whitney Fierce
• Saturday 16 May
  • Main Stage:Bruno Mars, John Legend, Empire of the Sun, Big Sean
  • Mercedes-Benz Evolution Stage: Joss Stone, Magic!, Mayer Hawthorne, Mikky Ekko
  • EDM Stage: DJ Vibe, Lovefingers, Renato Ratier, Behrouz

Footnotes

Citations