Press Releases

• Energy, Water, Environment, Mobility and Attractions are the five areas covered by the Vodafone IoT solutions implemented at Bela Vista Park
• 8th edition of Rock in Rio-Lisboa sees the launch of Vodafone’s Digital Enablement Platform (DEEP), a system that centralises and combines all smart information
• Real-time monitoring performed from the Vodafone Operational Command Centre in the enclosure

Rock in Rio is the only music and entertainment event in the world to have a smart ‘label’, thanks to the implementation in the 2016 edition of a wide range of Vodafone Portugal Internet of Things (IoT) solutions which have transformed Bela Vista Park into the first Smart Rock City.

With ten days to go to the start of the festival’s 8th edition, Vodafone Portugal and Rock in Rio have announced the launch of a new technological project, Vodafone Digital Rock City. Much more than an upgrade from the previous edition, this project reflects a strong emphasis on innovation and the capacity to combine digitalisation with music and entertainment by installing Vodafone next-generation IoT solutions in the venue.

Vodafone Digital Rock City is the outcome of the adoption of five solutions which monitor in real time the most important areas for the efficient operation of the festival: energy, water, environment, mobility and attractions.

It is in the solution exclusively developed by Vodafone Portugal for the attractions at Rock in Rio that one of the biggest innovations of the project lies, since it will directly affect the thousands of visitors who will visit Bela Vista Park during the four days of the festival.

With the Smart Check-in solution, registrations for the attractions in the festival enclosure – the giant wheel and the slide – will be made in a totally digital format. This innovation, never before used at Rock in Rio or any music event in Portugal, avoids queues and makes the registration process simpler and faster.

In practice, this solution imports into Rock City a check-in concept similar to that used at airports. Spectators simply need to download the Vodafone Rock in Rio App to register for the attraction they want and at the time they want, within the existing availability and reservations already being processed. The app will confirm the expected time of entry and generate a QR Code which will be used to enter the selected attraction.

In addition to having a positive impact on the public, this solution, like all the others, promises better optimisation of the processes, infrastructures and resources of Rock in Rio, making the festival environmentally and economically more sustainable.

• Smart Energy Measurement of energy consumption and centralised management of the electricity supply with a high degree of accuracy in the most strategic areas of Rock in Rio-Lisboa, such as the World Stage, VIP Tent, Digital Stage, Music Valley, Time Out Market, Rock Street Africa, Village Line and Gaming Arena. On the World Stage alone, where acts such as Muse, Bruno Mars, The Killers, The Chemical Brothers and many others will perform, there are several electric generators which can consume more than 3MW (megawatts), equivalent to the normal 1,000 watt consumption of 3,000 apartments during the night (8pm to 10 pm). This solution will enable more efficient management of the energy performance of these areas, enabling the adoption of preventive or corrective measures in real time, as well as the establishment of better conservation strategies in future editions of the festival. Between 2016 and 2018, for example, the number of electric generators has been reduced from 52 to 17, and it is estimated that there has been a decrease of 20% in electricity consumption compared to the previous edition.

• Smart Water: Supervision of the water mains that supplies Bela Vista Park’s four hectares, enabling monitoring of supply and prevention of potential interruptions or irregularities in distribution. The use of sensors placed directly in the water tanks makes it possible to act quickly and efficiently whenever levels approach the recommended minimum limit.

• Smart Air: Support for the execution of works at height, through the installation of an anemometer to monitor wind speed and direction. The monitoring of wind speed at the top of the World Stage is intended to maximise the safety of employees who are performing works at height, but also to monitor the impact of the wind on the structure of the Stage which is over 28 metres in height, equivalent to a nine-story building. The Smart Air solution also monitors several environmental parameters (air quality and concentrations of CO2, gases, fumes and molecules) in different parts of the enclosure.

• Vodafone On Board: Provision of free Wi-Fi and display of the festival diary and the latest news from Rock in Rio-Lisboa City on the screens (digital signage) of the buses that take visitors to the venue. This mobile entertainment solution responds to the new patterns of content consumption and the growing use of mobile data.

The solutions were developed by Vodafone Portugal in partnership with the company ThinkDigital.

Vodafone Digital Enablement Platform (DEEP)

All the solutions, already implemented by Vodafone in many municipalities and companies in a wide range of sectors have real-time monitoring as their common denominator, which acquires particular significance this year because it is fully integrated and interconnected in the Digital Enablement Platform (DEEP).

This solution by the Vodafone Group, which has just been launched in Portugal, centralises all the information from IoT solutions in a platform with unique and global architecture. With the launch of DEEP, the information will be aggregated and centralised on a single dashboard, enabling a more intuitive analysis of the information collected. At the same time, DEEP ensures the security and total reliability of the data, regardless of the number of solutions implemented, and the faster adoption of preventive or corrective measures in order to optimise the wide range of resources in the shortest possible time.

DEEP, which has full scalability for the continuous integration of solutions, will be available at the Operational Command Centre (OCC), the place from which the five intervention areas will be supervised during the four days of Rock in Rio-Lisboa.

Leading the digital revolution, the Vodafone Group became the first operator in the world to exceed 60 million IoT connections using machine-to-machine technology, in which the Company is a world leader. Vodafone Portugal plays a decisive role in the worldwide projection of the Group, to which it contributes the Internet of Things Skills Centre which, with its highly qualified team in Portugal, works daily on the development of solutions for the Portuguese market and for the whole of Vodafone.

“Vodafone was one of the first operators to believe in the potential of the Internet of Things to transform cities, businesses and homes. The Vodafone Digital Rock City project is testimony to the Company’s ability to quickly deliver solutions matched to any challenge, and to its unflagging focus on innovation in a dynamic and rapidly growing sector. In order to drive the digital transformation of Portugal, Vodafone will continue to develop its portfolio of digital solutions in close cooperation with government, local authorities, universities and industry. This constant technological modernisation has direct benefits for the local and national economic competitiveness of businesses”, said Paula Carioca, director of Vodafone Portugal’s Corporate Business Unit.

Ricardo Acto, Operations Director of Rock in Rio, said that “Digital Rock City shows how Rock in Rio-Lisbon evolves year after year to follow the trends of an increasingly digital world, as well as the changing needs, behaviours and expectations of the different audiences that attend the event. For example, the Smart Check-in solution introduces a digital experience into the venue’s traditional attractions. In parallel, all the solutions, which bear the Vodafone quality seal, will allow the organisers to identify opportunities for improvement for a more efficient and sustainable management.”

Vodafone has been a sponsor of Rock in Rio-Lisboa since its first edition in Portugal in 2004. In addition to being the festival’s technology partner providing communications services, Vodafone has accompanied the astonishing growth of Rock in Rio in other areas apart from music and entertainment.