2.17.2006
Rolling Stones gear up for Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
"RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Screams and cheers greeted the Rolling Stones as they pulled up to their beach-front hotel Friday in a huge police motorcade, and die-hard fans were already staking out spots before an enormous stage on Copacabana Beach, where up to 2 million people were expected to attend the band's free concert Saturday night. "We've been camped out here since 5:00 a.m. Thursday and we're only leaving to take baths in the ocean," said Rodrigo Barduco, a 23-year-old student from Sao Paulo.
A week before Carnival festivities hit full-swing, the concert was already drawing tourists and Brazilians to Rio de Janeiro — which knows a thing or two about hosting massive parties.
Millions of people flock to Copacabana Beach each year for the city's New Years' Eve celebration, which features fireworks, tributes to Afro-Brazilian spirit deities and bands on several stages. In 1994, 3.5 million people hit the beach to see Rod Stewart in what The Guinness World Records Web site describes as history's largest live concert." [Via news.yahoo.com]
