Brazilian music impresario known as the founder of the Rock in Rio festival franchise, a recurring music festival originating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas.
Eight incarnations of the festival have been held in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991, 2001, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019, eight in Lisbon, in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018, three in Madrid in 2008, 2010 and 2012 and one in Las Vegas, in 2015.
An entrepreneur and advertiser, Roberto Medina was responsible for the inception and organization of the festival, as well as moving the 2004 edition to Lisbon, while controversially keeping the brand “Rock in Rio”. In 2011, Rock in Rio returned to its original location, Rio de Janeiro, with a new line-up of singers and groups.
Rock in Rio is one of the largest music festivals in the world, with 1.5 million people attending the first event, 700,000 attending the second and fourth, about 1.2 million attending the third, and about 350,000 people attending each of the three Lisbon events.
In May 2018, Live Nation Entertainment acquired a majority stake in the festival (including from previous stakeholder SFX Entertainment), with Medina continuing to manage the festival’s operations. Live Nation stated that it intended to “[integrate] their industry expertise” into their overall business.
Link to Rock in Rio