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To be clear: from a pop music perspective, the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina did not offer any significant new insights.
The Roman amphitheater from the 1st century in the mainstream opera capital Verona was rather an impressive stage for the final act. A typical Italian baroque spectacle with countless details, which became a bit long due to the final medal awards and the boring official speech by the extremely uncharming IOC President Kirsty Coventry.
But we don’t want to complain here.
Major Lazer and the Thermomix party in the amphitheater
As an international figurehead, the organizers had roped in the feel-good professionals from Major Lazer for the final show block. Since the late 2000s, the US collective around multi-maker Diplo has stood for a global crossover sound between dancehall,
Reggae, hip-hop and EDM, which was processed in a historical setting into the Thermomix party with dancers and pyrobolts in jumbo format.
The official motto of the show was “Beauty in Action”, staged by event company “Filmmaster”, who brought a mixture of sport, culture and pop to the stage. Opera characters from Rigoletto to Figaro to an elaborately costumed Madame Butterfly were revived through TV recordings.
Even without the obligatory fireworks (which were not allowed in the old town of Verona), special effects, video installations and costumes brought the desired big images for worldwide television: according to creative director Alfredo Accatino, it should be “something that has never been seen before”. Well done!
Roberto Bolle, Benedetta Porcaroli and concentrated cultural power
In addition to the international beats, there was concentrated Italian cultural power: Roberto Bolle, one of the most famous dancers in the world as a contemporary prima ballerino at La Scala in Milan, whirled through several dimensions in a Ukrainian blue and yellow dress. Actress Benedetta Porcaroli framed the mega program in an IT Girl-like way by walking through the individual program items in a beautiful way – with cinematic flair.
Joan Thiele: Italy’s answer to St. Vincent
In a video and dancer-generated meditation on the different forms of water – snow, ice, steam and also the central Italian river Po, which flows into the Mediterranean as a delta near Venice (gondolas! Masquerade carnival!) – there was even a discovery. The musician Joan Thiele, who put the whole thing together with a hair arrangement and electric guitar, can undoubtedly be seen as the equal Italian answer to St. Vincent.
Achille Lauro as Dracula: Arrivederci 2028
As a revenant of Dave Vanian (The Damned), Italian rapper Achille Lauro came in a Dracula outfit and a cheeky curl on his forehead “in provocative extravagance,” said the commentator on ZDF. He didn’t make a wild wad, but instead intoned a canzone on the final night of the Olympics. Arrivederci 2028 then in the French Alps.
Paralympic Games and the next political trouble
Incidentally, the Veronese conclusion was not a final “Ciao”, but rather an “A presto”. The opening of the Paralympic Games will also take place here on March 6th, where the next political trouble is already looming. The participation of a delegation of athletes from Russia with a flag and marching pomp caused alarm in the committees in advance.
And yes: From Tuesday (February 24th), Italo-pop, which was honored here in the medley with classics like Mina’s “Se Telefonando” or “Il Cielo in una Stanza” (written by the great Gino Paoli), will be among itself again: Then the song festival begins in San Remo.
