(By Sandra Cordon) The Sanremo Music Festival captured only about one-third of the Italian television-viewing audience on its second night, raising concerns about the future of the event.
According to ratings data, Wednesday's figures were well
below the opening night audience for the 64th annual
publicly-funded song competition and prime-time entertainment
extravaganza, and significantly lower than the numbers of
viewers who tuned in during the same time last year.
The ratings data showed that Wednesday night, about 8.9
million viewers, or about 33.52% of the Italian viewing audience
for that time of night, tuned into the first half of the show.
The figures averaged about 33.95% of the late-night viewing
audience, or about 3.7 million viewers, in the second half.
That was about 3.6 million viewers less than recorded
during the same time slot on the second night of last year's
music festival.
The timing of this year's festival posed some difficulties
as it coincides with the Winter Olympic games under way in
Sochi, Russia.
As well, soccer matches dominated several television
channels.
Host Fabio Fazio defended the show, saying that he was
"proud" of it and refused to speculate on whether he would
return to next year's music festival, an event that combines
nostalgia and well-known classics with up-and-coming stars.
"I do not know; let me finish this festival and then we'll
see," said Fazio.
When he returns to the stage Thursday night, he will
introduce such acts as Renzo Rubino, Giuy Ferreri, Cristiano De
Andrè, Raphael Gualazzi and The Bloody Beetroots as well as
Antonella Ruggiero.
A top contender for the Sanremo title this year, Noemi,
will also hit the stage dressed in Gattinoni couture whose
creative director Guillermo Mariotto is known for provocative
creations appreciated by pop stars like Madonna.
The five-day festival pits 14 artists against each other
and eight upcoming singers for the title of best new talent.
The event dates to 1951, when only two participants were
involved.
Since then it has launched the careers of a number of
Italy's top singers including Eros Ramazotti and Laura Pausini.
The show, broadcast on State television RAI 1, has been the
target of anti-establishment comic-turned-politician Beppe
Grillo of the 5-Star Movement for its 18-million-euro price tag.
Grillo staged a demonstration outside the event late
Tuesday, calling it "emptiness par excellence" and a factor in
Italy's "political and economic disaster".
Nevertheless, RAI says the show will rake in 20.2 million
euros in advertising, plus 600,000 euros in ticket sales for the
event that ends Saturday night.
RAI 1 Director Giancarlo Leone had hoped the show would
draw ratings of "somewhere between the 35.4% low of 2004 and the
2013 peak of 47.3%".
The show has also been marred by other controversies such
as complaints against the openly-gay singer-songwriter Rufus
Wainwright's decision to perform his song Gay Messiah.
The Catholic youth organisation Papaboys criticized his
scheduled performance amid calls for the management of state
broadcaster RAI to 'intervene or resign' against what the group
called "blasphemy".
Besides music, fashion plays a top role, with designers
vying to dress leading figures taking part in the event.
For the opening night of the festival, an institution for
music fans as well as star-gazers, French actress Laetitia Casta
wore a voluptuous haute couture creation designed by Italy's
Riccardo Tisci for French fashion house Givenchy to mark her
comeback as a guest star, after making an appearance in 1999.
Italian actresses Cristiana Capotondi and Violante Placido
chose Dolce&Gabbana and a number of other artists are rumoured
to be donning one of the designing duo's high-impact numbers for
the festival.
Co-host Luciana Littizetto will be wearing Gucci throughout
the festival.
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