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Fans of "The Boss" took to social networks to
urge him and its staff to reconsider in a sign of respect for
the eleven dead and the thousands evacuated from their homes
after torrential rains caused landslides and made rivers break
their banks.
"@springsteen please consider to reschedule your concert today.
Surrounding areas have faced devastating floods. You should
because: all emergency resources should be available in the
affected area; we need to avoid massive traffic; out of respect
for the victims", Massimiliano Zampini tweeted.
Others were more outraged.
Cristiana Boi described the decision to go ahead with the show
as "outrageous," while Laura Casadei posted: "It is a scandal
that they are doing Springsteen's concert in Ferrara tonight. He
will sing without an audience as all the main streets are
blocked in several places."
Representatives for Springsteen did not immediately respond to a
Reuters request for comment.
Ferrara, one of Emilia-Romagna's main cities, has not been
directly affected by the floods and Mayor Alan Fabbri defended
the decision not to cancel the concert, which was expected to
attract as many as 50,00 people.
"I am sorry if anyone may have thought that Ferrara was
insensitive to the tragedy in Romagna just because it did not
cancel the concert of The Boss," Fabbri posted on facebook.
A concert, "given its enormous complexity, cannot be postponed
or cancelled" at short notice after having involved thousands of
workers and tourists arriving in the city, he said.
The floods have instead led authorities to call off Sunday's
Formula One Grand Prix in Imola, which is close to many of the
areas worst hit by flooding, with organisers saying it was not
possible to "safely hold the event".
(Reporting by Francesca Piscioneri; editing by Alvise Armellini
and Mark Heinrich)
(Photo: Residents use a boat to navigate
through flood water after heavy rains hit Italy's Emilia Romagna
region, in San Pancrazio near Ravenna, Italy, May 18, 2023.
REUTERS/Antonio Denti)
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