Nine hours of a marathon meeting to address the potential dangers of storm winds. Even though a calm is expected. It was supposed to be a routine meeting of the commission for the supervision of public entertainment called for this morning at 10 in the Prefecture, in Cagliari, in view of the New Year's concert in Largo Carlo Felice: it turned into a long discussion between technicians due to a circular from the Higher Institute of Public Works of the Ministry of the Interior. Let it be clear, Stewart Copeland's show is not at risk in the end. But the checks are not over.
The problem? Rules and quibbles. Better yet: a safety directive issued by the offices of the Ministry of the Interior. Stages for concerts of this size must be set up not according to weather forecasts, but on the basis of standard parameters. Thus it was discovered that the structure, to be considered suitable, must be able to withstand gusts of wind of over 100 kilometers per hour. It matters little that tomorrow in Sardinia almost flat calm is expected. The forecast that counts is the ministerial one. And we must adapt.
So the professionals who deal with the technical part on behalf of the event organizers, Vox Day, got to work to follow up on the requests of the Civil Engineering Department. And the day in Piazza Palazzo, for those who were there, became interminable: present were the mayor Massimo Zedda, the councilor for Culture Maria Francesca Chiappe, the municipal managers involved, the general director of the Municipality Antonella Marcello, the ASL, the firefighters, representatives of the police force and those who have to deal with the safety plan.
Hours and hours of negotiations, rewritten projects, feedback, compartmentalized meetings. Until the solution: the cover will be removed from the stage, which apparently could trigger the sail effect in case of wind. In the end, the minutes were drawn up, which contain some additional requirements: tomorrow morning, during the final inspection, we will know if they have been respected. But it shouldn't be difficult.