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It’s probably one of the most universally known arias, one that instantly sets an ambience of reflection, hope, emotion. It’s an aria that opens hearts out and touches souls, sending a message of peace. "Nessun Dorma" from the famous opera Turandot of Puccini, has become the official anthem of the AIPS Centennial, that will have its official celebration in the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, on August 6.
It will be a sentimental morning, where culture and sport will be together, celebrating our profession and building bridges with the younger generations as well as paying tribute to a bright century together.
AIPS 100, PUCCINI 100 The International Sports Press Association was founded in Paris in 1924, during the Olympics. One hundred years later, AIPS and the Olympic Games are once again reunited in the same location. But this year also marks the centenary of the death of Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died in November 1924 in Brussels. So this is a perfect way of celebrating two centenaries: AIPS 100 and Puccini 100.
Music, sports and sports journalism -the modern epic tale- share an unique advantage, they are universal languages capable of reaching the masses.
ORCHESTRA To commemorate the Association’s centenary, the musicians of the Puccini Festival Orchestra and tenor Amadi Lagha have recorded the piece from Turandot, in a video that will be showed at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, home of world’s culture. There will be representatives of French institutions, the Olympic Committee and the world sports and journalism. Journalists on the Podium (the trademark AIPS celebration for those that covered at least 10 Olympics) will take place during the ceremony. In times of tension, the Puccini opera as AIPS soundtrack will be a special, moving message.
The event will open by broadcasting on the screens of the Grand Auditorium of UNESCO a suggestive video with exclusive images of Torre del Lago Puccini and Giacomo Puccini taken from the historical footage "A Day with Puccini" to the notes of Nessun Dorma while the AIPS President, Gianni Merlo, will illustrate the reasons for this link between the two Celebrations and the importance that universal languages like sport and music have and will always have for culture, education, and peace among people.
PASSION AND DRAMA Puccini had a magic way of composing based on simplicity and directness, rooting their stories in factual, real life. It’s a language that journalists have used in their storytelling in the last century, with passion and drama.
In six days, a new chapter of those emotions will be written.
Quick facts
WHEN: August 6, 2024
WHERE: UNESCO Headquarters, in Paris
TIME: 9:30
AIPS Media Foto: Getty - Museo Villa Puccini / De Agostini
