Finally, the show is a success. It has generated around 90 million euros in economic benefits

Ultimo’s concert, as well as being a major musical event, is also a major commercial success. It is estimated that the economic impact of the evening – which brought together 250,000 paying spectators at Tor Vergata – amounts to around 90 million euros. Sixty-two per cent of the audience came from outside Rome – that is, around 155,000 people who spent an average of around 360 euros each. The concert’s takings, calculated at an average of 65 euros per ticket, amounted to 16 million euros. A night imagined, hoped for and dreamt of for ten years. And it became a reality on a warm summer’s evening, the sort caressed by the ponentino breeze in a gentle embrace. Ultimo takes Tor Vergata by storm, takes Rome by storm, ‘snatching’ the crown from Vasco and his 225,000-strong crowd at Modena Park in 2017. One of those evenings to remember, to treasure.

‘The day I’ve been waiting for’, as he’s titled his new album. Ultimo knows this well, arriving by helicopter just before the concert, wearing his trademark cap and white vest. And so do all those who have braved the sun, the heat, the long walks and the inconvenience (the back rows are a few hundred metres from the front ones). The important thing is to be there: the gathering of the ‘last’ has become the gathering of the ‘first’. And as the day gives way to night, the mega-stage – 140 metres long by 60 metres high (featuring 2,500 square metres of high-resolution LED screens, topped by Ultimo’s signature and boasting a 30-metre-long catwalk shaped like the symbol for infinity) – lights up, the ritual begins. The giant screens show images of teary eyes, tight embraces, and mobile phones ready to capture the moment to cherish for a lifetime. At the far end of the venue provided by Tor Vergata University, the words ‘Blessed are the last, for they shall be first’ appear first, followed by Ultimo, his eyes just as glistening as those of the crowd who have been waiting for him for hours. He is visibly tense and moved, but as soon as he strikes up ‘Pianeti’, the first song on the set list, the tension melts away, along with the bow he makes to the sea of people before him.

“Rome, you are a masterpiece, and this isn’t just a concert – this is a fairy tale, this is a fairy tale that will last forever.” Meanwhile, hundreds of red balloons flutter merrily in the audience. The words give way to songs that follow one another in quick succession: ‘Lunedì’, ‘Ovunque tu sia’, ‘Bella davvero’, ‘Rondini al guinzaglio’. And then ‘Romantica’ and ‘La stella più fragile dell’universo’. The songs that link him (in a relationship that remains somewhat conflicted) to the Sanremo Festival come one after another: *Colpa delle favole*, *I tuoi particolari*, *Il ballo delle incertezze*. As *Sull’eternità (il mio quartiere)* plays, Fabrizio Moro takes to the stage, having warmed up the crowd before Ultimo. The two share the same roots in the San Basilio suburb, but above all, Moro was among the first to believe in Niccolò Moriconi, who later became Ultimo. The set list includes *Fateme Cantà*, his outburst against a system that crushes people, followed by *Stasera* and *Poesia senza veli*. ‘Certain songs take you back to when you wrote them and why you wrote them. I wrote this song in 2021 and I remember exactly the moment I did it: it’s “Solo”’, he says, recalling the Covid period and lockdown. And so it goes, racing towards the end, with Ultimo giving it his all and seemingly unwilling to leave the stage. A concert without unnecessary frills, without technological gimmicks or special effects – essential, yet magnificent in its own right.

Everything has been designed to make the experience accessible to all those who answered the call and sang non-stop: 38 audio channels and 18 giant screens throughout the concert area to ensure everyone feels part of this unique event. An extraordinary musical event that is also a major commercial success. The finale is truly spine-tingling: the most eagerly awaited songs are performed – ‘Giusy’, ‘Piccola Stella’ – and the inevitable conclusion with ‘Sogni appesi’. Dreams that have now become reality.