originally conceived by the brazilian entrepreneur roberto medina, it was first held in january of 1985 and at this event, for the first time, several international rock stars made a big concert in south america. 

this milestone concert quickly turned out to be a huge success, attracting almost 1.5 million people - in spite of this success, the initiative was only repeated in 1991, and the third edition of rock in rio would take another ten years to be held.

from that point on it became a major brand, and several events dubbed rock in rio started to be held worldwide, although the one held annually in rio de janeiro's remains the most prestigious among them.

while these events heavily promote international stars, they are also home to known brazilian bands.