1 million to roll into Rio for Stones

Concert to be one of biggest in history

Roll over, bossa nova. The Rolling Stones are taking over Rio de Janeiro's famed Copacabana Beach next Saturday for what promises to be a historic rock 'n' roll extravaganza.

Organizers expect more than 1 million people to fill the beach area for the free concert by the aging but still agile rockers -- one of the biggest crowds ever for a rock show.

A huge stage is being constructed on the sand opposite the elegant Copacabana Palace Hotel where the band will stay.

Local media is gossiping about the VIP list, which will include singer Mick Jagger's 7-year-old Brazilian son. Hotels are booked solid by fans despite jacked-up prices and apartments overlooking the beach have been rented out.

"It will be historic - in the sense that they are in their 60s and they can still pull in a million people. I don't know how they do it," Paul Lester, deputy editor of Uncut music magazine, told Reuters from London.

Behind the excitement lies concern over security. Rio is scarred by violent crime and gunplay often spills over from the slums ruled by drug gangs into city streets. More than 6,600 people were killed last year in a population of 6 million.

Copacabana, where the gentle bossa nova sound was created in the 1950s, is now a haunt for prostitutes and drug dealers.

A huge security operation will be mounted with up to 10,000 police on duty. They might even occupy some of the favelas, or slums, close to Copacabana.

"We have a series of worries, from teenagers in a total state of abandon to traffic jams," police spokesman Colonel Aristeu Leonardo Tavares said: "A show of this size has no comparison to other shows."

A previous free Stones show, at Altamont in California in 1969, entered the annals of rock history after Hells Angels hired as security guards clubbed fans with pool cues. A fan was stabbed to death as he appeared to point a gun at the stage.

Though sex and drugs are an important part of Stone's lore, the band will avoid the action on Copacabana's main drag.

They will cross from their suites on the sixth floor of the Copacabana Palace Hotel on a purpose-built walkway over Atlantic Avenue onto the seven-story-high stage on the beach.

The Stones -- Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ron Wood and support musicians -- have been playing across the United States on the "Bigger Bang" tour and performed at the Super Bowl halftime show on February 4. (Read how ABC stifled some Stones' lyrics)

The "Bigger Bang" album, hailed by critics as their best in years, won a Grammy last week. The Rio show will be filmed for a DVD.

This will be their third time in Brazil. Jagger has a young son, Lucas, from a liaison with Brazilian model Luciana Gimenez. The two will be among the 4,000 special guests, celebrities and sponsors who will be treated to a lavish buffet in a special enclosure next to the stage.

The concert is being financed by the Rio municipality and communications companies Claro and Motorola.

It's indicative of how the Stones have moved from being bad boys to businessmen over the decades, Uncut's Lester said.

"The Stones are really a multinational corporation. They are up there with McDonalds and Coca-Cola as a recognized world brand even though for many people Jagger is still a figure of decadence and debauchery."

Some question Rio city's involvement in the show. In a letter to Folha de S.Paulo newspaper, Pedro Fontes said the money would be better spent on improving favelas and community projects.

"Is it better to have a million-dollar rock show than to try to ease the misery that exists right next to the concert stage?" he wrote. "Only one more thing...I adore the Rolling Stones."

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posted by nscafuro @ 4:39 PM