ITALY – Covid returns to worry Amadeus. One year after the renamed festival of rebirth, or the restart if you prefer, Sanremo risks falling back into an impasse.
This was revealed by the mayor of the Ligurian city, Alberto Bianchieri, who, as reported by ANSA, declared that the Italian music competition will be staged in a reduced-capacity Ariston Theater:
“Let’s see what will happen between now and January 10, but it will be a Festival with the public, even if it will not be a one hundred per cent Festival like the one in 2019, but it cannot even be compared to last year. Surely it will be a Festival that up to three months ago none of us would have ever imagined having to face. Unfortunately, the infections are high.”
And who knows that between now and February 1, the day on which the kick-off of the 2022 edition of the event is scheduled, the decrees will not force spectators to remain outside the door.
Some planned side events have already been cancelled. As reported by Il Secolo XIX, Amadeus’s idea was to make the Italian guests sing in Piazza Colombo, with the help of Tommaso Paradiso, called in the unedited role of conductor and intermediary between the square and the Ariston. The singer-songwriter, former leader of The Giornalisti, will still be in the game.
The holiday decree, which has put out parties in the square, concerts and nights at the disco, has prompted the organization to avoid everything related to outdoor spaces. Mayor Bianchieri, however, anticipated that there are alternatives, indoors:
“There will be no outdoor stage, however, we are working with Rai on an event at the Alfano auditorium whose details are under discussion.”
The cruise ship hypothesis that had made a lot of talks last year reappears. This year it seems that the idea will come to fruition: on a Costa Cruises moored off the coast of Sanremo, Orietta Berti will be the host and host the artists during the festival evenings.
Sanremo will also have to deal with the recently approved reinforced green pass. With the obligation required by the government of a certificate of vaccination or recovery for all workers, including that of the show business, many workers still ‘outlawed’ linked to the Festival will have to comply as soon as possible.
Same thing for the competing artists and their entourages. As written in the Festival regulations, “artists and record companies must comply with the national, regional and local legislation issued and enacted to deal with the ongoing epidemiological emergency from Covid-19”.
Who will have access to the Ariston and how?
Il Secolo XIX offers an exhaustive overview:
“During the rehearsals of each artist, only the representatives of the record company with special passes issued by RAI will be admitted to the Ariston, except for the first rehearsal session, during which an accredited representative of each record company will be allowed to remain in the hall for rehearsals.
Both during the rehearsals and during the evenings, only one representative for each record company will be admitted in the backstage area, while the accompanying persons (seamstresses, hairdressers, make-up artists, various staff) will have access to the dressing room area in a limited number and however, only if authorized and in possession of a pass issued by Rai.”
The pandemic is racing again and the reinforced green pass is also a requirement for spectators. With the orange zone arriving in Liguria, and the impossibility of filling the Ariston in its entirety, RAI has the task of finding other ways to beat cash – not to mention Tim’s abandonment as sole sponsor.
an oikotimes original text
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