The cancellation of Eurovision hurt. But on May 16 the EBU will help ease the pain by airing Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light. The contestants will present clips of their songs, and you’ll want to look out for Italy’s Diodato. Today, during a digital press conference with about 100 journalists, he revealed that he’ll be singing “Fai rumore” alone inside Arena di Verona — the ancient Roman amphitheatre. We were on the Zoom chat, and jotted down some of Diodato’s remarks below.
Diodato at the Arena di Verona
L'anteprima di @DiodatoMusic in #FaiRumore all' @arenadiverona ??
L'esibizione realizzata per #Eurovision Europe #ShineALight in prima serata sabato #16maggio su #Rai1 @RaiQuattro @RaiRadio2 e @RaiPlay#ESC2020 #ESCita @Raiofficialnews @EurovisionRai pic.twitter.com/xrlOXkTFKL— Rai1 (@RaiUno) May 14, 2020
“To be able to sing ‘Fai rumore’ by myself in the shrine, the temple such as the Verona Arena, the possibility of shedding light, of putting the spotlight on the importance of music, it’s a source of great pride.”
“It was such a strong feeling to hear my voice resonate inside this place. Going back and thinking of our cultural legacy is something that is really overwhelming.”
“I really had the impression time was suspended, time had stopped, and I hope you will feel the same way when you see these images on Saturday.”
“When I wrote this song I started with my personal feelings. The night I presented it at the [Sanremo] festival I said it was an invitation to cancel all walls, to bring your humanity out. I thought I had reached my emotional peak by winning the festival and people sending all their love. I would never have imagined….seeing this song become an anthem, a cry of freedom, a desire to express your humanity, a desire to sing this from your balcony. I was so moved by this because it reminded me what music should be doing.”
“It’s given a very deep meaning to everything. It has reconnected me with the desire to do music to communicate something. To tell a story. To talk about my feelings and emotions, so this can become the feelings and emotions of someone else.”
“It is true we will not have Eurovision. It’s true I could have participated in the most-seen music show in the world. But, because of my nature, I can’t see the glass half empty. I can’t see the negative aspects…I can’t ignore the gifts life has given me.”
Speaking of Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light, he said: “It wipes out barriers. It wipes out all the walls. It’s proof music can really bring people together. We’re all the same in this.”
Writing on Instagram, Diodato elaborated on his experience filming at the Arena.
“Maybe you already know it but, in recent days, I had the privilege of seeing the lights of the Arena di Verona come back on and singing ‘Fai rumore’ in this temple of world music, alone, surrounded by a silence that speaks of this time and much more. I heard my voice travel on its stone and come back with a different feeling, suspended in time.”
“You can see and hear everything during Europe Shine A Light, Saturday evening, from 20:30 on RAI 1. The event, intended to replace Eurovision, will be a further demonstration of how much music is able to unite, to end distance, to overcome political boundaries, to give voice to our humanity, to manifest our presence and rekindle a beacon of beauty, even in the most difficult moments.”
“This is perhaps the task of culture, the task of art. We hope these places can come to life again as soon as possible and that our policy can work at its best to protect them, enhance them, make them shine again.”
He is the best! I visited the arena last October it’s beautiful
Diodato is in the top 10 of egyptian charts now http://esctracker.com/
All these Diodato performances have me convinced that Italy could’ve won this year.
30 seconds of tears, joy, and hope.
No offence but this only makes more depressed. Is this what they mean with entertaining? Give me laughs, camp, Verka, Fuego. Not heartfelt Corona renditions and messages about how everybody is keeping up. We know why it was cancelled, do we need to be reminded of it? And we know about Corona situation, do you need to remind us? Can’t we just forget about it for one night? But to each his own I guess..
I mean, what was he even supposed to do? He had to perform a song and it could either be done in his living room or in some open space, they decided that Verona’s Arena would look cool and it does, other than also being a very meaningful place for its importance in Italian music. The arena must be empty as that’s what comes with quarantine. That’s it. It’s not like they’re making him sing in a hospital next to a dying grandma’s bed with a giant poster in the back reading “CORONAVIRUS IS BAD CRY WITH US”.
You’ll get “Hasta la vista”.
Fai Rumore is a sad song, in case you didn’t notice it.
Wow I can’t wait to see this! I’m sure it’s magical!
You can, thanks to RAI, for the wondeful Idea, and to EBU. Just look here:
https://youtu.be/Ogyi0GPR_Ik
My absolute number 1 this year.
I hope diodato will come back next year.. He has so many good songs beside fai rumore.