Peppers Add Spice To Rio

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns N’ Roses, Roger Waters, Sting, and Shakira fill the headline slots at this year’s Rock in Rio-Lisboa.

It’s one of only five festivals RCHP is doing on a 26-date European tour that opens at Barcelona’s Palau St. Jordi May 30th and 31st. It closes with four shows at London’s Earls Court July 14th,15th,17th and 18th.

The 50,000-capacity event at Lisbon’s Bela Vista Park – the second time the Rio-based festival has been held there – will have a main stage and a “Red Hot” second stage for upcoming bands to perform on and an Electronic tent featuring the world’s top DJs and VJs.

There will also be a “Radical Space,” with a graffiti wall, an artificial snow ramp for snowboard workshops and a “snowtubes” playground. Another addition this year is the “Kids Space” with activities for children.

Network Live, a joint venture between AOL, XM Satellite Radio and AEG, has secured exclusive U.S. and international sales rights for all broadcast and media distribution platforms outside of Portugal and Brazil, including Internet, wireless/mobile, satellite and terrestrial radio and television.

The organizers expect to name at least another 50 artists to play the event, which is spread across two weekends at the end of May and the beginning of June.

The 2004 event in Lisbon drew 386,000 visitors and featured Paul McCartney, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Britney Spears, Metallica, Alicia Keys, Alejandro Sanz, Black Eyed Peas, and Foo Fighters.

The full list of headliners, which was announced February 27th, is Shakira and Ivete Sangalo May 26th, Guns n’ Roses and Xutos & Pontapés May 28th, Roger Waters, Carlos Santana & Rui Veloso June 2nd, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Da Weasel June 3rd, and Sting and Anastacia June 4th.

–John Gammon