The final of the “Suns Europe” music contest in Udine lived up to expectations, due to the quality of the show and the remarkable participation of the audience – both the audience that filled theatre “Giovanni da Udine” Theater and the one that listened to Onde Furlane Radio or watched the websites www.sunscontest.com and www.ondefurlane.eu, in orde to follow the whole show in audio and video streaming. The highlight of this European Festival of performing arts, which turned Friuli into the heart of Europe, represented the spirit of the whole projet, giving evidence to both the vitality of cultural expressions for minorities, the European nationalities and the importance and relevance of their claims and promotion.
The night, hosted by Michele Polo – actor and cultural entertainer from Friuli – and by Sardinian singer and actress Claudia Aru, ranged from the captivating trip-hop by Ilmu, the oblique folk by the Galician Caxade, the hip hop crossover by the Breton Rhapsoldya, the fusion between Sami singing and blues by Ozas, the folk-punk by the Basque Kasernarat, the exotic charm of Zaman from Bashkortostan, the shoegaze rock of the Irish Tuath, the intense auteur pop by the Romansh-Ladin duo Me+Marie, the sophisticated songwriter from Friuli Loris Vescovo and the Frisian pop-soul duo Marit & Nigel. To conclude the show the performance by Marco Brosolo, who – together with his band and with the complicity of rappers Alessio Mura and Dek Ill Ceesa – presented some tracks from his album Cadremo Feroci, recently published by the British label Rought Trade, where he translates into music and in many languages nine poems by Federico Tavan.
Among the ten finalists, the Audience Award was won by Ilmu, who received the greatest number of votes via SMS and online, while the Jury awarded the victory of the Suns Europe competition to Marie+Me. Young Marit & Nigel from Fryslân were the second choice of the jury, composed of ten specialists in the field of music, representing all participating languistic communities.
The audience enjoyed the whole night and demonstrated to share the opinion of the Jury. Attending the show, among others, the Mayor of Udine Furio Honsell and the councilors of his committee Antonella Nonino and Federico Pirone, the President of ARLeF Lorenzo Fabbro, the representative of NPLD (European Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity) Jorge Jimenez Bech and the regional councilors Gianni Torrenti and Cristiano Shaurli. Shaurli, at the end of the night, commented on Facebook: «It has been a great show, a fusion of languages and sounds that represent identity but also the belief that specificity and diversity are an added value to confront ourselves with the world and build a better Europe. The best answer to those who think these resources and choices are unnecessary has been given by these guys…and by a packed theater!»
SUNS EUROPE has received the patronage of the General Secretariat of the European Council and the Effe trademark (Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe) and is organized with the support of ARLeF (Agjenzie Regjonâl pe Lenghe Furlane-Regional Agency for the Friulian language) and Turismo FVG, under the coordination of Informazione Friulana cooperative and with the cooperation of CEC – Centro espressioni cinematografiche of Udine, the Associations Bottega Errante and Il Laboratorio, Punto Zero cooperative, the City of Udine and the “Giovanni da Udine” Theater.