Rock in Rio for a Better World, a music festival of gigantic proportions, is set to take place in Brazil in January, according to event organizers. A total of 98 acts--including Britney Spears [ tickets ], ‘NSync, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young [ tickets ]--are scheduled to perform during the festival. Organizers expect to attract 1.5 million people to the festival-site over the course of the seven-day event, according to details posted on the event’s official website.

The festival is scheduled to run from Jan. 12-14, and from Jan. 18-21. Tickets cost R$35 in Brazilian currency per night, which at press time translated to about $18.70 in U.S. currency. Ticket information can be found at the festival's website.

In addition to Spears, ‘NSync, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Young, other internationally known artists scheduled to perform include Beck, Deftones, Foo Fighters, Rob Halford, Queens of the Stone Age, R.E.M., Sheryl Crow and Silverchair, all of whom are slated to grace the event’s main stage, dubbed the World Stage. Those artists will share that space with Brazilian acts such as Barão Vermelho, Charlie Brown Jr., Funk ‘n Lata and Skank. More acts may be added.

Live performances are also scheduled to take place under a large tent dubbed the Roots Tent, which will house world-music artists from around the globe. A rave-style tent, a Brazilian music tent and a Better World tent--a multi-media, informational forum--are also planned.

The event is set to take place on a specially constructed, 250,000-square-meter festival site named Rock City, located in the west area of Rio de Janeiro. The site housed 1985’s 10-day Rock in Rio festival, which featured performances by artists such as AC/DC, the Go Go’s, Ozzy Osbourne, Rod Stewart and Queen, as well as Iron Maiden and James Taylor, both of whom are slated to return this year. The event attracted 1.38 million people, according to the festival’s website.

Rock in Rio II, which took place in 1991, was a 9-day festival that attracted 700,000 people to Maracanã Stadium, a venue specially built for the event, according to the website. Artists who performed at the festival included A-HA, Billy Idol, Debbie Gibson, Faith No More, George Michael, Guns N’ Roses, INXS, New Kids on the Block, Prince and Santana.

According to event organizers, five percent of the net revenue from Rock in Rio III--which organizers are estimating at about B$12,000,000 Brazilian currency (about $6.4 million U.S. at press time)--will be donated to educational programs.

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