Rio Tinto Alcan co-presents free outdoor programming and sponsors new year-round home for the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal

Rio Tinto Alcan co-presents free outdoor programming and sponsors new year-round home for the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal

MONTREAL, June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Rio Tinto Alcan is proud to once again co-present the free outdoor program for the 2009 Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, including the grand closing event and numerous free concerts on the new Rio Tinto Alcan stage.

"We are honoured to play such a key role in the 30th anniversary edition of one of the world's premier music festivals, not only by offering free outdoor concerts and events for the fourth consecutive year, but through our support for the Festival's new permanent home, the Maison du Festival Rio Tinto Alcan," said Jacynthe Cote, chief executive, Rio Tinto Alcan. "Our four-year sponsorship commitment of over $6 million runs through to 2010 and reflects our unwavering support for arts and culture in Montreal."

The new Rio Tinto Alcan stage, at the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Jeanne-Mance, will be the site of numerous free concerts throughout the Festival. Rio Tinto Alcan will host the grand closing event on 12 July, a Cubana Fiesta, starring Afro Cuban All Stars and Los Van Van, followed by Ben Harper and Relentless7.

Rio Tinto Alcan will also sponsor the En voix series of concerts at Place des Arts, featuring jazz greats such as Melody Gardot, Charlie Haden and John Pizzarelli.

Furthermore, two family favourites will be back in 2009 - the Rio Tinto Alcan Musical Park and the Little Jazz School. These venues provide free access to games, educational activities, face painting, and crafts to create musical instruments made of aluminium.

"Our continuing partnership with Rio Tinto Alcan is an excellent example of how private enterprise and cultural organisations can collaborate for the good of the entire community," said Alain Simard, Festival International de Jazz de Montreal president and founder. "This particular collaboration has allowed us to consistently offer valuable new programs for Festival visitors and build a year-round home for the Festival at the Maison du Festival Rio Tinto Alcan. We've also achieved carbon neutrality and become one of the most environmentally-friendly events of this calibre in North America."

For the second consecutive year, Rio Tinto Alcan will purchase Gold Standard certified carbon offsets through Planetair to compensate for Festival emissions. Rio Tinto Alcan will continue to sponsor this project to make the Festival carbon neutral for the next two years.

As in previous years, Rio Tinto Alcan also supports the Festival's recycling and waste reduction program that allows for the recuperation of approximately 30 tonnes of material per year.

The 2009 Festival International de Jazz de Montreal opens on 30 June and closes on 12 July. Over the course of these 13 days and nights, Montreal will roll out the red carpet for over 3,000 musicians from every corner of the globe. From jazz to soul to blues, with detours through traditional music, electro, and folk, the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal promises to enchant music lovers of all ages.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc) and iron ore. Activities span the world but are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and southern Africa.

Source: RIO TINTO ALCAN - EN

CONTACT: Rio Tinto Alcan Media Relations, Canada: Stefano Bertolli,
(514) 848-8151, stefano.bertolli@riotinto.com; Festival International de Jazz
de Montreal: Marie-Eve Boisvert, (514) 523-3378,
marie-eve.boisvert@equipespectra.ca; www.riotintoalcan.com;
www.montrealjazzfest.com

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