The Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics’ social media account’s have just revealed that Gabry Ponte, Eurovision alumnus and member of Eiffel 65 will perform at the closing ceremony of these Winter Olympic Games, on Sunday, 22 February, next week.
An Italian legend at the Closing Ceremony
A week after the Opening Ceremony, the organisers of the Winter Olympics are finally revealing more information on the Closing Ceremony, due to be held at the ancient roman arena of Verona (which will also hold the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games). The first confirmed guest artist is Gabry Ponte.
Ponte took part in Eurovision last year for San Marino, with the party anthem “Tutta l’Italia”, first heard as the leitmotiv of the Sanremo Festival last February, before winning the national selection for San Marino a few weeks later. Despite finishing last in the Grand Final, the song became a hit in Italy, and was also part of the celebrations surrounding the Olympic Torch Relay.
Gabry Ponte is also well remembered for being part of Eiffel 65, the eurodance band behind the 1999 hit “Blue (Da Ba Dee)”, and who also contributed to the music of major sports events, like the 2000 UEFA Euro Championship (with “One Goal”) or the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin (with “Living In My City”).
Party in Verona
Olympic closing ceremonies are usually less formal and grandiose than their opening counterpart, and usually turn into a party for the athletes, who enter the stadium or arena with their national delegation but are then meant to mingle without national distinctions (a tradition launched during the 1956 Melbourne Olympics). The last time Italy hosted such an event, for the 2006 Winter Olympics, Elisa and Ricky Martin closed the evening.
The general theme of the ceremony will be “Beauty in action”. As per tradition, it will also see the extinction of the Olympic Cauldrons, and the handover ceremony with France for the 2030 Winter Olympics, due to be held in the French Alps.
The Verona arena, in which it will be held, also has a small Eurovision history, being used a few years ago for the special videoclip of Italy’s 2020 entry, “Fai Rumore”, which was used for the Eurovision tribute broadcast “Europe: Shine a Light”.
Who else do you think will feature in the Closing Ceremony? Did you watch the Opening Ceremony? Tell us more in the comments below!
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