Rock in Rio heading to Las Vegas in 2015

The long-running music festival Rock in Rio is to make its US debut, it was announced Tuesday. Las Vegas will host the inaugural US event in May 2015.

The long-running music festival Rock in Rio is to make its US debut, it was announced Tuesday. Las Vegas will host the inaugural US event in May 2015.



Rock in Rio first took place in the Brazilian city in 1985, when nearly 1.4 million people attended. The festival went on to spawn incarnations in Madrid, Lisbon and Buenos Aires and returned to Brazil in 2013. That edition -- which sold out its 600,000 tickets in four hours -- featured Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Muse and Alice in Chains.



Read:Bon Jovi to headline Rock in Rio event



For Rock in Rio USA, a permanent open-air concert venue christened the City of Rock will be custom-built with capacity for around 80,000 people a day. The venue will feature five stages, streetscapes representing Brazil, the US and the UK, a VIP area and amusement park rides.



Tickets for Rock in Rio USA will go on sale to the general public in January 2015 and can currently be reserved on the festival website.