The controversial tam tam on social media marked the eve, marked by the fury of the bad weather that brought nearby Romagna to its knees, causing victims, evacuations, damages for billions. But in the end Bruce Springsteen takes the stage of the Giorgio Bassani Urban Park in Ferrara, in front of about 50,000 fans who have bought tickets for months and who come from all over Europe to attend the first of the three Italian dates of the Boss with his E Street Band . Cancel the concert, postpone it, was the appeal launched by many users, due to the logistical difficulties but also as a sign of solidarity with the area battered by the flood. Some have chosen to put the ticket back on sale, giving up the concert, others in the last few hours have asked for at least a sign of support for the most affected areas, such as the launch of a fundraiser for the displaced.
But the complex organizational machine did not stop: the Ferrara area – explained Springsteen’s historic promoter, Claudio Trotta of Barley Arts – is not a red zone, the trains made available by Trenitalia have been confirmed and everything went on “in maximum safety and with maximum respect for everyone’s needs”. Even the mayor of the city, Alan Fabbri, specified that the concert, “given the enormous complexity”, could not “foresee postponements or cancellations after having involved thousands of workers” and “thousands of tourists from all over the world, who they bought a plane ticket, a hotel room for several days”. “As a former mayor of Bondeno who experienced the 2012 earthquake on the front line, I have never asked that Italy or the Region stop championships, events and company production out of solidarity with us. First, because it solves nothing, if not create other economic damage to territories, workers and companies that have invested large sums for the realization of the event, secondly because it is a level of demagoguery that does not belong to me”, added the mayor, aware of the controversy, underlining that the city has adopted “the municipality of #Faenza, one of the hardest hit, to actively demonstrate all our solidarity”, by donating 10 thousand euros and activating a fundraiser.
More than five hours late, to allow the Supervisory Commission to check the usability of the park, after the rains of recent days, the gates thus opened around lunchtime to allow the influx of fans. Everything went smoothly, also thanks to the good weather. Over 900 security personnel supervised, including 200 from the forces of order including the Police, Guardia di Finanza and traffic police, 150 civil protection volunteers and 62 health workers from 118, the local health authority of Ferrara and the Red Cross. Waiting is all for the Boss: and it cannot be ruled out that he knows how to be ideally close to people in difficulty, addressing the issue of emergencies on stage. The legend of world rock and the E Street Band are then expected on May 21 at the Circus Maximus in Rome and on July 25 at Prato della Gerascia inside the Monza racetrack, an appointment that will close Springsteen’s European tour.
The Emilia-Romagna Region, through the vice president delegated for civil protection Irene Priolo, expressed to the Prefect and the mayor of Ferrare “the surprise of the choice to hold the Bruce Springsteen concert anyway and to request the activation of civil protection volunteering, given the very serious emergency that is affecting a large part of the regional territory”. The Region itself makes it known in a note. “The decision whether or not to hold the Ferrara concert – says Priolo – does not belong to the Region, nor to the Commissioner for the management of the current emergency. This decision belongs solely to the Municipality of Ferrara, which autonomously chose to confirm the event “. Priolo let it be known that he denied the willingness to employ civil protection means and men for the concert who are not municipal volunteers, excluding in any case all those who have functional professionalism for the emergency activities currently at work. “And this – she concludes – all the more so when resources from other Regions are also involved in flood management”.
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