Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Milan, July 5 2022 – "The Christmas of the trees" will once again animate Milan during the 2022-2023 holidays. The municipal council decided this, with a resolution which for the first time sees the collaboration of all the departments involved and contains the valid guidelines for sponsorships, collaborations, grants of patronage and contributions for Christmas initiatives in the city.

"Christmas of trees" is a concept donated by the Bracco Foundation to the Municipality of Milan: it includes the traditional tree in Piazza del Duomo and other trees - thematic and signature - to be created in different areas of the city. According to the resolution, the project may be supported by other creative ideas possibly proposed by the sponsors. The projects must be carried out entirely by the sponsors, at their care and expense, in compliance with current regulations.

"Christmas initiatives in Milan - comments the councilor for Sport, Tourism and Youth Policies Martina Riva - always arouse great interest among citizens and tourists: they are worth a visit to our city for the entire holiday period, in the center as in all the neighborhoods For this reason, we ask private individuals, associations and foundations to participate in the public notices that we will publish, proposing quality projects that meet specific requirements, starting with the environmental sustainability of events and demonstrations. The Christmas of the Trees, the markets, the illuminations are opportunities for visibility for many city and non-city entities, a concrete opportunity to start again after the health emergency. This year too, collaboration between the public and private sectors will be fundamental in the development of valuable projects, for the benefit of the entire city and of its economic fabric".

The Administration will proceed with the search for public or private entities available to sponsor, through participation in specific public notices or the presentation of spontaneous proposals, events and initiatives in the city. The proposed ideas will be evaluated by specific technical commissions. Among the elements examined: the relevance to the concept, the originality and quality of the format, the artistic and creative content of the proposal, energy and environmental sustainability and the use of innovative technologies.

In continuity with previous years, for the 2022-2023 holidays, various initiatives can be carried out in different areas of the city: from the skating rinks to the New Year's concert, from the light installations to the Christmas market in Piazza Duomo, for which they were specific guidelines are envisaged with a further resolution approved by the Council. Through a public procedure, an organizer of the next two-year editions will be identified who will have to set up, in the period between 1 December and 6 January, the area of ​​Piazza Duomo with the traditional wooden structures in the shape of a "little house". The event aims to promote social gatherings during the holidays, but also to finance the restoration of the Cathedral's Great Organ and the construction of the cathedral's new audio system. For this reason, the winning entity will undertake to pay the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo a contribution of 250.000 euros for each edition organised.

"The Christmas market in Piazza Duomo – explains the councilor for economic development Alessia Cappello – has now become a fixed appointment for the Milanese and for the many tourists who stop in the city during the holiday period for some years now. We are already working on confirm the important participation of 2021 and to replicate the great success of the illuminations which, last year, lit up two hundred streets, for a total of thirty kilometers illuminated, giving citizens a magical atmosphere, in the center and on the outskirts, in a historical moment in which there is a great need. We are certain that, once again, the associative and productive fabric of Milan will respond with enthusiasm and quality offers to the Administration's call".

The Administration will be able to develop collaboration agreements, even onerous ones, for promotional events or initiatives and will be able to grant patronage and contributions in support of specific subjects (for example to Street Associations) for a maximum overall expenditure of 80.000 euros.

Furthermore, for non-commercial occupations of public land relating to initiatives and events promoted by the Municipality of Milan - also for the set-up and dismantling phase - exemption from the payment of the single property fee will be granted.

For the implementation of lighting projects for streets and commercial axes, the sponsors of the central streets will be asked to take charge of the lighting of decentralized areas as well, to underline the synergy between the commercial fabric of the different city contexts.

Finally, to celebrate the night of 31 December 2022, the Administration will launch a public tender procedure to receive proposals and projects of high artistic quality that can animate Piazza del Duomo or an appropriate city space. The show may be musical and/or multimedia, it must contain footage of the symbolic places of Milan, the displays and Christmas trees present in the city and it must also be streamed.

A special commission composed of managers and officials of the Administration will be set up to evaluate the proposals.

The Administration reserves the possibility of intervening in support of additional expenses for the realization of the New Year's Eve event not covered by the sponsors and which may jeopardize the cultural offer to the city, making available an expense quota of up to a maximum of 100.000 euro, to cover the deficit.