Rock in Rio
The biennial festival began in Rio de Janeiro in 1985; the City of Rock is across town, while Lapa remains the night base under the arches.
Rock in Rio is a biennial Brazilian multi-day music festival. Roberto Medina organised the first edition in 1985 in Rio de Janeiro, the city that named the brand.
Later editions branched to Lisbon, Madrid, and Las Vegas, then the festival returned to Rio in 2011 with a new line-up. Ten Rio incarnations are listed through 2024.
From the 2017 Rio edition the Portuguese page places the festival at the Parque Olímpico, the City of Rock site, not in Lapa. That ground is a city crossing, not a neighborhood stroll.
Lapa still holds the night you come back to: music under the colonial arcade, and a walkable centre when the last set ends.
The Arcos da Lapa are about 5 minutes on foot from Lapa. The festival itself is not that walk; it plays at the City of Rock, across the city.
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Stay nearby
Stay at Mural da Lapa; the Arcos da Lapa are about 5 minutes on foot.