On the eve of the competition, President Marius Vizer had the pleasure of attending a concert of famous artists and IJF Ambassador Al Bano Carrisi, organised by the International Judo Federation. Al Bano was accompanied by his own musician and also performed together with Italian pop group Ricchi e Poveri as well as many artists from Russia, Romania and other countries. During the concert, the city mayor, the IJF President and Al Bano came together on the stage for a friendly moment where President Vizer presented Mayor Settimo Nizzi with the IJF gold medal.

This concert was a present of the IJF to the city of Olbia. Due to Covid protocols it was limited to 1,000 spectators, who had to book their place, but attended free of charge. As a result, the concert was fully booked and spectators could even listen to it from outside.

For the city Mayor, Mr. Settimo Nizzi, who was very happy with the IJF presence and the concert itself, it was a huge success and the fact that many people could listen to the show was a reward enjoyed by so many. The concert, meant to be two hours long, ended up being four hours of show and great music.

For the public it was an exciting moment of joy and happiness. Everyone respected the social distancing and all other measures to fight against Covid. They could still sing and dance in an incredible atmosphere that made people forget a bit about the hard times that everyone went through.

Mr Vizer said, “It was an exemple of synergy between sport, culture and art. Al Bano is our ambassador, promoting judo and its values throughout the world. It's a great honour for our judo family to be able to count on him. The concert yesterday, which perfectly respected the Covid protocol, was beautiful. It was a good promotion for our sport after the success of the Tokyo Olympics. We went through a long and difficult period due to the pandemic but life goes on and judo goes on, as well as culture and art."

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