Rock in Rio music fest debuts in Spain

ARGANDA DEL REY, Spain (AFP) — Twenty-three years after its launch in Brazil, Rock in Rio moved to Spain as 42,000 people watched acts such as Neil Young and Alanis Morissette in a setting that was more like an amusement park than a traditional rock fest. Bob Dylan, The Police, Shakira and Amy Winehouse are also among the more than 60 acts set to perform over two weekends at a festival the Brazilian organisers hope will eventually become a "global brand" reaching as far as China. At Arganda del Rey, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Madrid, three stages -- the World Stage for headliners, the Hot Stage for lesser known acts and the Electronic Stage -- have been specially built at a 20-hectare (50-acre) site.

On Friday night, people from several generations observed three minutes of silence "for a better world", and the Madrid Youth Orchestra performed John Lennon's "Imagine" to open the festival, which continues on Saturday and on July 4-6. Canadian-born singer-songwriter Morissette was the first on the World Stage, followed by Jack Johnson and Spain's Manola Garcia. The night concluded well after midnight with 62-year-old Canadian rocker Neil Young. In 1969, Young performed with Crosby, Stills and Nash at Woodstock, the New York farming town where the US counterculture and the hippie era of the late 60s was highlighted during three days of sex, drugs and rock n' roll. The differences between that and Rock in Rio could hardly be more striking.

The organisers see Rock in Rio as a family event. "In Brazil, we saw had fathers who had gone to the first festival (in 1985) who later brought their children, and that's when we realised that this is about more than just music," Rock in Rio's vice president Roberta Medina told AFP. "We started to focus on promoting a lot of entertainment." At Arganda del Rey, there are dozens of attractions for all ages, including a 50-metre (150-foot) snowboarding slope with artificial snow, a skateboarding park, a ferris wheel, a catwalk for fashion shows, shops, bars and restaurants and even a daycare centre for children. On Friday, many parents brought their children, although all of about a dozen families interviewed by AFP said they had received free invitations, and had not paid the 65-euro entrance fee.

Deborah, a 37-year-old airline employee from South Africa who lives in Madrid, said she came with her husband and small child after she received free invitations. "It would be almost impossible for us to pay 65 euros," she said. "It seems a lot of money, even without a financial crisis."

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