This will be the second year that the event takes place in Portugal and in Leiria - the second city to host it twice in a row, after Paris -, bringing together a thousand musicians of various nationalities, who will perform for an expected capacity of 22,000 spectators.
“I am absolutely sure that it will be an even greater success than it was this year”, said MOT’s executive director, Tiago Castelo Branco.
The first Rockin’1000 held in Portugal, on September 14th, reached “almost perfection”, highlighted the person responsible, who promises in the next edition “it will not be ‘copy/paste’”.
“We will have different guest artists, a different line-up, a different disposition [of the musicians] and other attractions that I cannot yet mention”, he said, at the presentation conference, at the Leiria Municipal Stadium, highlighting that “there will be investment in the show beyond the music”.
At its debut in Portugal, Rockin’1000 Leiria “technically was perfect”, due to “the great challenge of having a thousand musicians on the pitch and controlling everything”.
“The final product surprised me”, admitted Tiago Castelo Branco. Now, “it’s about not messing around if it worked and worked so well”. But there are aspects to improve, namely “the scenic part, lighting, and pyrotechnics, to enhance it a little more”, he said.
Regarding the choice of the same location, the promoter considers that “there was no doubt that Rockin’1000, returning to Portugal, would have to return to Leiria”.
“It was the worst kept secret in Portugal. The ‘fault’ was the way we were received in Leiria, not only by the city council, the city and the community”, but also “how the city dressed to receive not only the thousand musicians, but the thousands of people who travelled to watch the show.”
The founder of the Rockin’1000 project, the Italian Fabio Zaffagnini, anticipates that the second edition will be “as successful as the first”: “It will be even more spectacular, it will be even more special and engaging for the entire public. We have a lot of time to prepare for this concert and it will be spectacular.”
The mayor of Leiria, Gonçalo Lopes, highlighted the fact that this is the second large-scale production announced for the municipal stadium for 2025, alongside Andrea Bocelli's presentation, on May 31st.
“We were perfectly aware that Leiria Municipal Stadium had ideal conditions for this type of event”, said the mayor, while Tiago Castelo Branco revealed that MOT will invest “close to four million euros” to take Bocelli and Rockin' 1000 to Leiria.
Gonçalo Lopes also guaranteed that the schedule is being prepared so as not to conflict with the use of the venue by União de Leiria, which competes there in the II Football League.