娱乐英语新闻:8th Rock in Rio festival opens in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The eighth edition of Rock in Rio, one of the largest music festivals in the world, opened here on Friday.

The seven-day festival, founded by Brazilian music impresario Roberto Medina, represents some of Rio's busiest times for entertainment.

According to the local hotel association, the hotel occupancy rate during the first week, with concerts scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, is 78 percent.

For the second week, with concerts running from Thursday to Sunday, the occupancy rate is 84 percent, which is very high for the low season.

The first Rock in Rio festival was held in 1985, the second in 1991 and the third in 2001. After a decade-long hiatus, another festival was held in 2011. Since then, the event takes place every other year in Rio.

Medina has also introduced his music festival to other countries. In 2004, the first overseas edition took place in Lisbon, Portugal. After that, there have been three editions of the festival in Spain, and one in the United States.

Despite its name, the Rock in Rio festival goes beyond rock and roll, featuring many pop singers as well as local artists with typically Brazilian music.