One of the world’s biggest festivals, Rock in Rio, opens in recession-hit Spain today.

More than 8,000 people will work at the festival, spread over four days between now and July 7, organisers say.

The mayor said it has packed out Arganda’s hotels and made business for local suppliers who provided materials to build the City of Rock, a 200,000-square metre expanse with two stages, shop stands and a Ferris wheel.

Stars such as dance-pop diva Rihanna and Californian punk-funk supergroup the Red Hot Chili Peppers are due to play there next week.

Staging the festival, which started in Rio de Janeiro in 1985 and now alternates between Brazil, Portugal and Spain, is good for Arganda, but a challenge for its organisers because of the recession.

“It is much more difficult at the moment. Fewer tickets are sold, there are fewer sponsors,” said Roberto Medina, the Brazilian entrepreneur who founded Rock in Rio.

“But a festival like this is not only about seeing the great groups that are going to play and the happiness of the people who come. It’s more than that,” he added. “We are talking about all the people employed here.”

Organisers say the festival has €25 million of investment. Rock in Rio, founded with a mission to champion development, says it has given €11.6 million to social and environmental causes over the past decade and this year is backing a campaign for girls’ rights by international children’s charity PLAN.

During the festival, teenagers from deprived suburbs of Madrid, trained by professional volunteers, will interview and film performers and spectators, making reports to be screened on-site.

The festival opens today with acts including US rocker Lenny Kravitz and Mexican rock group Mana, then continues next week.

Rihanna headlines on July 5, DJ David Guetta on July 6 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers on July 7.