A crowded Piazza Gae Aulenti. Colorful balloons of green, white and red. And the extraordinary voice of Andrea Bocelli accompanied by the RAI Orchestra, conducted by maestro Andrea Morricone. This is how Expo Milano 2015 celebrated last week the start of the countdown marking the final year before its inauguration. At the event hosted by Antonella Clerici, comedian and actor Enrico Bertolino, celebrity chef Davide Oldani and Don Gino Rigoldi each took to the stage. Joining in the countdown were Inter Milan and AC Milan football players, Anderson Hernanes and Ricardo Kaka, taking part as Ambassadors of the Universal Exposition.
“It’s time to get going and move ahead,” said the Sole Commissioner of Expo Milano 2015 Giuseppe Sala. “With just one year to go before the event we need to get focused on the theme Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life, and start talking about its social aspects.” The event was attended by the Minister of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, Maurizio Martina; the Mayor of Milan, Giuliano Pisapia, and the President of the Lombardy Region, Roberto Maroni.
“All institutions are committed to Expo Milano 2015,” said the Governor Roberto Maroni “and although it doesn’t often happen in Italy that institutions led by representatives of different parties join forces and work together, it is happening here.” From here to next year “we’ll have to run and face steep hills – added the Mayor, Giuliano Pisapia “but then there will be that steep descent that is Expo, a celebration lasting six months during which we can also reflect on important issues.”
“La Forza del Sorriso” (The Power of a Smile) is the song that Andrea Bocelli has dedicated to Expo Milano 2015. His distinctive voice and the music by Andrea Morricone accompany a video showing aerial images of Milan, from the Duomo to Piazza Gae Aulenti, from the past to the present, beautifully carrying Bocelli’s voice towards the future, one year from the inauguration of Expo Milano 2015.
“I wanted to write some verses that invite people to smile”, said the singer, “the smile is perhaps the scarcest of things these days, especially in Italy. Yet a smile carries a potent force, it is contagious and stirs optimism.” The song was debuted on April 30, exactly one year before the universal exhibition opens, accompanied by 71 musicians and 50 choralists from the Rai Orchestra, at the above mentioned event.
(Article courtesy of Expo 2015; www.expo2015.org)
