Live Nation Entertainment has a large collection of festivals, and they’ve just added South America’s Rock in Rio to their portfolio.
Rock in Rio takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Lisbon, Portugal every other year, which each span over two weekends. Originating in 1985, it has now reached 11 million followers via social media, hosted 1,700 artists, and had 9 million attendees throughout 18 editions of the festival. Some notable previous headlining acts include Queen, Prince, Guns N’ Roses, Justin Timberlake, Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, and Britney Spears, among others.
This year is no different; huge acts like Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, Muse, and Demi Lovato will take the stage.
“We are delighted to bring together the world’s biggest music festival with the largest entertainment company on the planet,” Roberto Medina, Rock in Rio’s founder and President said in a statement. “The partnership will generate a number of synergies that will enable the realization of even greater ambitions for Rock in Rio. We are two companies with a united global vision and the ability to achieve big dreams.”
Although Live Nation acquired a stake in the festival, Medina will still remain a key stakeholder and will continue to manage all aspects of the production and consulting.
“Rock in Rio is a marquee event which set the standard for festivals in South America,” Michael Rapino, President and CEO of Live Nation Entertainment said in a statement. “Roberto and his team have grown Rock in Rio to become a truly global event and the preeminent festival in the emerging live events market in South America. We look forward to integrating their industry expertise into the Live Nation business.”
Rock in Rio has reached various different countries, including the U.S., bringing a variety of genres and diversity to the lineup. It has been attended by more than 700,000 fans from 62 different countries.
Live Nation has partnered with over 100 festivals across the globe and hopes to build its profile in South and Latin America, after seeing its “growing demand for concerts” each year. So far, the company has expanded the Lollapalooza franchise across countries Brazil, Chile and Argentina with its partner C3 Presents.
