[div class="byline"][h1]The Stones Rock 1.5 Million in Rio Days Before Carnival
[/h1]By [a href="vny!://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/r/larry_rohter/index.html?inline=nyt-per" title="More Articles by Larry Rohter"]LARRY ROHTER[/a][/div][div class="timestamp"]Published: February 19, 2006[/div][!--NYT_INLINE_IMAGE_POSITION1 --] [nyt_text][/nyt_text]RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 18 — It takes audacity to come intothe city that is home to the world's most famous Carnival just one weekbefore that bacchanalia begins and play any style of music other thansamba. But the Rolling Stones have never lacked for swagger, and onSaturday night about one and a half million people, according to thepolice and other authorities, flocked to Copacabana Beach for a freeconcert starring Mick Jagger and company.
[/p] [div id="articleInline"][div id="inlineBox"][a href="vny!://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/19/international/americas/19stones.html#secondParagraph" class="jumpLink"][/a] [div class="image"][img]vny!://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/02/19/international/19stones.1841.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="260" width="184"][p class="caption"]Mick Jagger greeted the throngs in Portuguese and dressed for the occasion. [/p][/div] [/div][/div][a name="secondParagraph"][/a] The prospect of seeing theStones without having to pay market prices attracted fans from all overBrazil as well as the rest of South America and even Europe and theUnited States. [/p]Hotels along the beachfront were sold out, withlavish parties being thrown in some suites with ocean views as well asin private apartments, and some eager fans began camping out on thebeach early in the week in hopes of securing good vantage points forthe show.[/p]"They are still the greatest rock 'n' roll band in theworld, better by far than U2 or Oasis or Franz Ferdinand or any of theother pretenders" who have been touring Latin America during thisSouthern Hemisphere summer, said Ricardo Soares Cabral, a graphicdesigner who had come more than 1,000 miles by bus to see the group."This is a historic show, and I wouldn't have missed it for anything."[/p]
