F1 Rocks Revs Up For Valencia

F1 Rocks expects its series of Grand Prix concerts to get off the grid in Valencia, Spain, June 24, after an earlier start in Bahrain was stalled because of political and civil unrest on the oil-rich island.

Grammy award-winning superstar and multi-platinum artist David Guetta will top the bill in Spain.

“F1 Rocks in Valencia” will be a high-impact highlights package distributed to international broadcasters and local networks to a potential global TV audience in excess of 40 million viewers in more than 127 territories.

It will be a mix of entertainment, including footage from Guetta’s appearance, and will also feature sport, fashion and lifestyle elements.

“I am very happy that Formula One Rocks is continuing in the way it was originally launched – to bring top class performers to Formula One events,” said F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone, who is still in talks over whether the Bahrain race will be rescheduled for later in the season. It was originally scheduled for mid-March.

The original bill would have included Guetta, Taio Cruz and Sugababes.

If the race and the concert can be rescheduled it’d be less of a setback for F1 Rocks organiser Enterprise Entertainment, which took over operations after All The Worlds – a Universal Music Group joint venture – pulled out after staging one show in Singapore.

ATW began struggling to attract sufficient sponsorship to cover artist fees and Universal appeared to lose its enthusiasm for the project.

Enterprise hasn’t had much luck since it began with F1 Rocks. It produced a successful show headlined by Stereophonics at last year’s Italian Grand Prix, but two months later in Brazil the outdoor event was hit by bad weather.

That show was also a success in terms of attendance, pulling 25,000 to see a bill that included Eminem and NERD, but high winds and torrential rain put a dampener on the occasion.

Enterprise communications chief Christine Gorham, who had six years working in F1 public relations and left Live Nation to return to the world of motor racing, says the company is looking to set up at least three or four more F1 Rocks shows during the current Grand Prix season.