ROME -- Over 50 artists attended this year’s annual Mayday concert in Rome on Wednesday, however, the main star of the show had to be the downpour which continued well into the evening. Due to ongoing maintenance work, the concert was held at the ancient arena of Circo Massimo, instead of the usual Piazza San Giovanni, resulting in a muddy washout. 

  The live show, which was intended to begin at 3pm, was instead interrupted by technical problems caused by the heavy rain, altering the sets of both Giusy Ferreri and Cor Veleno. After twenty minutes of silence, the conductor Ermal Meta, alongside stars Noemi and BigMama improvised an acoustic version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah.

   BigMama went on to dedicate his performance to the young people of Italy. “They always tell us ‘Don’t back down, don’t surrender, you have to make it’. We are the children of this generation who are afraid of not making it. Failing is never something human, the average must be very high. Instead, you must remember that failure is something precious, it makes you believe in your dreams, in your inner strength. I call it the desire for revenge, the most beautiful thing I have.” 

  Noemi also took to the stage to convey an important message, “May Day must be for working men and women, for labour, for social justice and violence against women.” She explained, highlighting the injustices women often face in the workplace, “women are treated worse and paid less at work. In Italy, one in two women do not have a job, many women have precarious or poor working conditions or are forced to work part-time. In the private sector, a woman’s salary is around 8000 euros lower than that of a man. One in five women leave their jobs after having a child. Yet women graduate more and with higher grades.” 

  Following the technical difficulties, the concert-goers enjoyed performances from Malika Ayane, ex-Otago, Motta, Piotta, Leo Gassmann, a dance version of the famous ‘Bella Ciao’. Stars, Negramaro, Rosa Linn, Rose Villain, La Rappresentante di Lista, Achille Lauro also took to the stage, followed by a highly anticipated set from Geolier. 

lw