New ‘Cidade do Rock’ is Ready to Host Rock in Rio 2017 this Friday

By Beatriz Miranda, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – This Friday, September 15th, the Cidade do Rock (City of Rock), situated in the former Olympic Park, in Barra, opens its gates at 2PM for the Rock in Rio 2017, the greatest music festival in Brazil. The seven-day event hopes to attract around 700,000 people to over 150 performances.

The party gets started even before the official opening: until 2PM, diverse bands will play at the outside area of Cidade do Rock, entertaining the queuing audience.

The seventh edition of Rock in Rio will bring several technological innovations, including drones that will display a lighting spectacle, a cellphone charging station, and a communication bunker for security data.

With the aim of facilitating the audience’s locomotion, the new Cidade do Rock has a whole new arrangement for the eight stages. Additionally, the Rock Street will honor Africa’s landscapes at this edition, presenting two artificial lakes and a large wooded area.

What’s more, the over 300,000 square-meter venue will bring new attractions this year: the Gourmet Square, the Rock District, the Digital Stage and the Games XP arenas. Inspired in Lisbon’s famous “Mercado da Ribeira”, the Gourmet Square will offer a variety of world class restaurants run by renowned Brazilian chefs, like Roberta Subbrack, Jimmy Ogro and Pedro Benoliel. There, one can also find affordable stalls of restaurants like Botero, Deli Delícia and Melhor Pastel do Mundo.

At the Rock District, Brazilian artists will go up on the stage to pay homage to renowned musicians who have already participated in the history of Rock in Rio, like George Israel, Jamz, Kisser Clan, Evandro Mesquita & The Fabulous TAB and The Silva’s. The area will also include an LA style “Hall of Fame”, where the participant artists will certainly leave their imprint.

Brazil’s trendiest digital influencers will be present at the Digital Stage, a venue exclusively dedicated to YouTubers, bloggers and trendsetters in the social media. There, names like Hindersson Nunes, Christian Figueiredo, Daniel Saboya, Sofia Oliveira, Thayná Bittencourt and Maurício Meirelles will perform, chat with the audience and participate in humor shows.

Another novelty in 2017’s Cidade do Rock is the Game XP area, which will gather game specialists and players from all over Brazil in two of the former Olympic arenas. Game XP’s line up includes e-Sports, talk shows with entrepreneurs from the segment, games’ battles and stalls.

Rock in Rio 2017 will bring some world famous groups to Brazil for the very first time, like the English band The Who, to play on September 23rd before the Californian band Guns N’Roses. Unusual musical partnerships also promise to amaze the audience, like the duet between American soul and R&B singer Cee Lo Green and IZA, pop and hip hop singer from Rio’s periphery.

Already in its 17th edition, Rock in Rio music festival has already attracted over 8,5 million people and promoted over 1,600 shows. In the last ten years, the festival has also taken place in Portugal, Spain and the United States.

What: Rock in Rio 2017
When: September 15th, 16th, 17th and 21th to 24th – see venue to check time details
Where: Parque Olímpico – Avenida Embaixador Abelardo Bueno, 3401 – Barra da Tijuca
Entrance: see venue for price details