Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

The longest event in Italy ends with 20 sold outs and over 26.000 spectators, in compliance with the anti-Covid 19 restrictions

Milan, September 11 2020 – The 8th edition of the Sforza Summer ends today in the spirit of support for workers and operators of live entertainment. With 85 shows of music, dance, theater and performing arts from 21 June to 11 September, the program promoted and curated by the Culture Department of the Municipality of Milan confirms itself as the longest live show in Italy and records in closing with over 26.000 spectators and 20 paid events sold out. 

Heart of the 'Aria di cultura' program - the program of initiatives that accompanied the resumption of live entertainment and cultural activities in Milan - the 2020 edition of the event constitutes a success for the resumption of cultural and entertainment activities in the city . The particular effort of the Municipality at a management and production level in organizing a varied and refined event was welcomed with heartfelt participation from the public, with an average presence at the shows of 475 admissions, considering the shows 'sold-out' with 500 spectators in relation to the dynamic audience with alternating sessions provided for by ticketing systems such as Mailticket, sponsor of the event, in compliance with social distancing provisions.

An important signal in a delicate historical moment for live music and entertainment events, which were given space thanks to a privileged stage in the exclusive location of the Courtyard of Arms of the Sforzesco Castle, the city's historical-artistic and cultural heritage. The shows were particularly accessible thanks to the 30 free entry events and the controlled prices of the other events on the bill.

The 2020 edition ends in support of entertainment workers with 'Intermittence'. Organized by the Coordinamento Spettacolo Lombardia, the show offers free entry to support entertainment workers in financial difficulty due to the suspension of theatrical activities. On stage, important artists of Italian theater such as Laura Curino, Arianna Scommegna, Gabriele Vacis and Alberto Patrucco, accompanied by live music by the Via Padova Orchestra and guitarist Massimo Betti. The artistic interventions will have work as a common thread, from the fields to the factories, from the theater to the school.

The show is representative of the role of 'stage for the city' played by the festival in the summer marked by the Covid 19 pandemic and the consequent limitations necessary for live shows imposed by Government regulations. In such a critical moment for the entertainment and live music sector, Estate Sforzesca welcomed talents of every art and generation and around 1.700 operators and laborers from the industry in the sector to the stage of the Castle in the heart of Milan.

As the protagonist stage of the Milanese summer, the event also hosted: 10 festivals and shows, including the Milanesiana, Milanoclassica, the Human Rights Festival and the preview of Jazzmi; over 40 artistic entities, both Milanese and otherwise, such as cultural associations, such as orchestras and ensembles, theatre, dance and performing arts companies, including the La Verdi orchestra, the Parenti theatre, and a special gala with the best dance academies in the city; the students and professionals of Milanese schools and academies of the artistic disciplines hosted in the exhibition, including the Claudio Abbado Civic School of Music, the Ricordi Music School, the CPM Music Institute, Grock and the Milanese Theater Manifatture. There was no shortage of artists of national importance such as Enrico Ruggeri, Enrico Intra, Diodato, Fabio Treves, Ghemon, Calibro 35, Frankie Hi-NRG and Lodo Guenzi, and then poetry, cabaret, circus art, choirs and children's shows. 

Sforza Summer, the first completely plastic-free event organized by the Municipality of Milan, reconfirms its eco-friendly vocation. Also in this edition, the exhibition constitutes a unique effort in the care of environmental impact thanks to a particular synergy between public and private institutions and bodies and associations for environmental protection. A concrete commitment that Estate Sforzesca guaranteed thanks to the awareness-raising work of Legambiente - present at the concerts with a stand dedicated to the public - to the contribution of Edison and Novamont in the supply of energy and alternative plastic materials to the bar on site at the Castle and to the monitoring of the organisational, transport and recycling processes of materials by AMAT. In particular, the review counts a plastic saving of around 18.000 dishes including aluminum cans and glasses made of PLA material.

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