Pop was king this weekend in Las Vegas, when Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars attracted over 90,000 people to Rock in Rio grounds – a better turn out than the rock weekend, which summed up 82,000 fans. In total, the first American edition of the festival drew 172,000 people to the capital city of entertainment, a better-than-expected result.
Roberta Medina, Rock in Rio's vice-president, was beyond thrilled with the public's reaction. "People are so happy!," she gushed, when we talked Saturday night right before Bruno Mars entered the main stage to deliver the closing show for this year's edition.
Swift's concert was grandiose, but Bruno Mars was the real star, indeed. His performance kicked off with an energetic "Locked out of heaven" and it was all smiles and emotion from then on. Unlike what happened with Taylor Swift, more and more people gathered around the main stage once Mars started playing, past 11:30 pm, and very few left before 1am, when he supposedly ended the show with the massive hit "Just the way you are."
But more was yet to come, with two songs in the encore: "Uptown Funk" and "Gorilla." Everyone was dancing with the funky tune and when the last song came, fire shots and fireworks completed an extraordinary set.
"I can't thank you enough, Rock in Rio!," Bruno Mars shouted.
"I wish you could see what I can see from here." He sang all his greatest hits, and people sang along - from "Billionaire" to "Marry me" and "Treasure." In the end, it was a good choice from the organisation, which had already struck gold with John Legend being moved into the main stage, after Sam Smith cancelled. Legend ended up attracting a huge crowd as well, and no one was left unmoved by "All of me" and the oscar-winning "Glory."
The success has been tremendous, and even MGM International Resorts, Rock in Rio's partner, is surprised about how good it went. At least two more editions of the festival are already granted, and more might come due to the impressive outcome, as the city of Las Vegas is now interested in having one every year.
