By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – An ongoing contest offers seven couples a chance to wed during the 2015 Rock in Rio music festival in Rio de Janeiro. One wedding ceremony will be held on each day of the festival, which this year will take place on September 18th, 19th, 20th, 24th, 25th, 26th, and 27th in Barra da Tijuca’s Cidade do Rock venue.
The Capela da Cidade do Rock (City of Rock Chapel), a new area to be located in the Rock Street section of the festival will host the wedding ceremonies of the winning couples.
“Getting married at Rock in Rio has almost become a tradition. The idea for the contest came from the huge demand we had from couples asking to get married during the festival,” Roberta Medina, vice president of Rock in Rio told O Globo. “It’s more proof that marriage and music can be a perfect match.”
Named “Eu Vou Casar no Rock in Rio” (I Will Get Married in Rock in Rio), the contest began on April 27th with organizers asking couples to apply by sending emails with descriptions of their love stories. Marking the first phase of the contest, registration will remain open until Monday, May 11th.
The second phase of the contest will involve 200 couples, selected by judges from the entries, sending in videos explaining why they think they should be chosen to get married in the festival’s chapel.
A jury will then evaluate the submitted videos and select sixty couples. Those sixty videos will be posted, from May 21st through the 22nd on the official Rock in Rio YouTube channel with the public asked to view and vote for the fourteen semi-finalists. Voting will then take place from May 23rd through the 27th.
The fourteen remaining couples will be asked to submit an additional video containing their wedding proposals. A jury will evaluate those videos and select the seven winning couples.
The marriages will be civil marriages conducted by a Justice of the Peace. Both members of the couple must be at least eighteen years of age and present both a valid identity card and a Brazilian CPF, among other regulations stated on the official Rock in Rio website.
In addition to the wedding ceremonies, confirmed entertainers for the festival include Katy Perry, Robyn, Elton John, Queen with Adam Lambert, One Republic, The Script, Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Royal Blood, System of a Down, Queens of the Stone Age, Slipknot, Angelique Kidjo, and John Legend.