After about 20 minutes on the scheduled time, due to technical problems due to rain, the Concertone del Primo Maggio starts with Bloom, the alternative rock band made up of Giusy Ferreri, Max Zanotti, Roberta Raschellà and Alessandro Ducoli, who presented for the the song È la vera for the first time live. After a short break, the rain began to fall heavily on the May Day Concert in Rome again. Umbrellas are open again, even for the conductors, and artists challenge the water.
Giglio, with the song Santa Rosalia, is the winner of 1MNEXT, the May Day Concert contest in Rome dedicated to emerging artists, conceived and produced by iCompany, organizer of the event promoted by CGIL, CISL and UIL.
His smiling photo on the screen and the tribute from the artistic director of the Concertone del Primo Maggio in Rome, Massimo Bonelli: it is the memory that comes from the Circus Maximus for Ernesto Assante, who passed away in recent weeks. “He left too soon,” Bonelli said.
“It’s raining a little, we can only wait, the technicians are trying to solve it, but the problem is more serious than it seemed at first.” Ermal Meta, after a few minutes of blackout on the stage of the Concertone at Circo Massimo, comes out on stage and apologizes to the audience. Then the musician lent as host picks up the acoustic guitar, “the only one we can use”, and sings Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen.
After Bloom, they try to sing Cor Veleno, but the pouring rain interrupts their performance after a few seconds. Problems also with the TV signal, for those watching the event on Rai3. The audience patiently waits in silence under a carpet of colored umbrellas, while the stage is desolately empty. Images of the perplexed artists behind the scenes flash across the screens.
The Concertone does not start. Due to technical problems due to the rain, the first performance, which was performed by Bloom led by Giusy Ferreri, did not begin. “What a shame, a lot of work for nothing – says the singer who takes her time -. Due to bad weather, the version we wanted you to hear won’t come”, she says again. Ermal Meta also enters, “let’s try to turn the stage on the dry side”.
After the preview starting at 1.15pm on RaiPlay, the Concertone del Primo Maggio in Rome kicked off in the rain, which this year left the traditional square of San Giovanni (where work is underway in view of the Jubilee) to move to the Circus Maximus. The 2024 edition, promoted by the unions with the slogan “Let’s build together a Europe of peace, work and social justice”, will be opened by the hosts Noemi and Ermal Meta, with the story of the First of May, starting from the American struggles in 1886.
The ancient Roman arena is slowly filling up, also due to the rain that has fallen on the city since this morning.
May Day at the Circus Maximus, from Mahmood to Ultimo
“Let’s build together a Europe of peace, work and social justice”. It is the underlying theme of the May Day concert, which this year changes location, from Piazza San Giovanni to the Circus Maximus, promoted by CGIL, CISL and UIL, organized by ICompany. Hosts will be Ermal Meta and Noemi with BigMama for the preview, who we will also see perform, in a lineup of over 50 artists including debutants at the event and returns. A parterre that includes Ultimo, Mahmood, Negramaro (the last time they were there in 2006, ed.), La Representative Di Lista, Malika Ayane, Rose Villain, Ariete, Achille Lauro, Colapesce Dimartino, Tananai, Cosmo, Dargen D’ Amico, Maria Antonietta, Morgan, Motta, Ditonellapiaga, Piero Pelù, Santi Francesi, Piotta, Vale Lp.
“It is the largest free live concert in Europe – recalls Marcello Ciannamea, Rai Prime Time Entertainment director -. This year at the Circus Maximus, a challenging location in terms of size, imagination and emotion”. An event that “we want to tell about this year also with a docufilm” explains Massimo Bonelli (ICompany), artistic director and general organizer of the Concert. It will start at 1.15pm with the preview hosted by BigMama (exclusively for RaiPlay) and then get to the heart of the event, presented by Noemi and Meta, starting from 3.15pm live on Rai 3 and until 00.15am, as well as live on Rai Radio2, on RaiPlay and Rai Italia. The Concertone “is also a great collective moment of reflection” observes Radio 2 director Simona Sala. A flow of music and voices for peace, rights and themes starting with work (Stefano Massini will also be there, accompanied by Paolo Jannacci, with a monologue on white deaths) but also, among others, anti-fascism, the equality between men and women, the fight against gender violence. “I would like to remind you that during the twenty years of fascism May Day was abolished – underlines Maurizio Landini, secretary of the CGIL -. It returned to being a holiday thanks to the Constitution and when Italy became an anti-fascist democracy. As far as we are concerned, the May 1st is the holiday of the whole country. Putting work at the center means putting people back at the centre.” May 1st “is a day to renew our commitment to safety, stability and the social value of work – underlines the general secretary of the CISL, Luigi Sbarra -. It is inevitably linked to April 25th, the day of liberation which reaffirms the values of freedom and democracy”. For Pierpaolo Bombardieri, secretary of the Uil, May Day is a day “in which music is also used to launch some messages that today no longer seem fashionable, such as peace, solidarity, the dignity of work, themes that are not only Italian but Europeans”.
The two hosts are excited but ready for the new challenge: “We will support each other” say Ermal Meta and Noemi, who return, answering questions, also on the debate around anti-fascism these days: “I find it a bit strange that we have to explain the concept of anti-fascism to young people. The Constitution is based on this, they are values that perhaps should be transmitted in a more constant way – says the singer-songwriter – Perhaps there is a disconnect at the generation level on these issues which becomes an obstacle, but Italy is an anti-fascist state. May 1st is no exception, as always it will be a May 1st dedicated to the union of all the values of peace that serve us all”. For Noemi, the concert “is also a beacon of civil rights, of society, and a topic like anti-fascism is very important. Young people must be made aware of these topics”. There is no risk of censorship on major issues, reiterates Giovanni Anversa, deputy director of Prime Time Entertainment: censoring them “does not belong to the stage and does not belong to Rai”.
Read the full article on ANSA.it
2024-05-01 14:22:20
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