Chain
November 18th, 2004, 05:44 PM
http://au.news.yahoo.com/041118/11/rsml.html
Friday November 19, 02:40 AM
Romans Fear for Colosseum as Backdrop for MTV Gig
ROME (Reuters) - Rome's mighty Colosseum risks being damaged and diminished by a major MTV rock concert, traditionalists and conservationists warned on Thursday.
As a prelude to the MTV Europe Music Awards taking place on the outskirts of Rome in the late evening, an array of pop and rock artists were set to play in front of the huge 2000-year-old arena where gladiators fought in ancient times.
The venue was used twice in recent times for rock concerts, by Paul McCartney in 2003 and Simon and Garfunkel (Ruination celebration- just like in olden times, eh singing jooz?) in July this year, with thousands of fans packed into a street which cuts through the ruins of the Roman Forum.
But some people fear the noise of amplified rock music -- when goth rockers The Cure top the bill -- could harm the architecture.
"Has anyone considered the impact of rock on the Colosseum?" politician Teodoro Buontempo asked in Italy's parliament.
"Have the authorities ... considered the inevitable damage that will be caused to the monument by the huge noise?"
The head of the government's archaeological heritage department, Adriano La Regina, said even worse than the physical damage would be what he saw as the cheapening of the Colosseum's image as it is used to promote commercial pop music.
"What kind of image is this?" La Regina said in an interview in Corriere della Sera newspaper in which he said the authorities should not have allowed the MTV show.
"It's debased, exploited, commercialised. An image (of Rome) that in the end will have less value because it will have lost its fascination, its integrity, its beauty."
Eminem, OutKast
http://www.oneposter.com/UserData/Poster/Poster_2101.jpg
and Franz Ferdinand are among the acts hoping to pick up awards at the main show later on Thursday.
Friday November 19, 02:40 AM
Romans Fear for Colosseum as Backdrop for MTV Gig
ROME (Reuters) - Rome's mighty Colosseum risks being damaged and diminished by a major MTV rock concert, traditionalists and conservationists warned on Thursday.
As a prelude to the MTV Europe Music Awards taking place on the outskirts of Rome in the late evening, an array of pop and rock artists were set to play in front of the huge 2000-year-old arena where gladiators fought in ancient times.
The venue was used twice in recent times for rock concerts, by Paul McCartney in 2003 and Simon and Garfunkel (Ruination celebration- just like in olden times, eh singing jooz?) in July this year, with thousands of fans packed into a street which cuts through the ruins of the Roman Forum.
But some people fear the noise of amplified rock music -- when goth rockers The Cure top the bill -- could harm the architecture.
"Has anyone considered the impact of rock on the Colosseum?" politician Teodoro Buontempo asked in Italy's parliament.
"Have the authorities ... considered the inevitable damage that will be caused to the monument by the huge noise?"
The head of the government's archaeological heritage department, Adriano La Regina, said even worse than the physical damage would be what he saw as the cheapening of the Colosseum's image as it is used to promote commercial pop music.
"What kind of image is this?" La Regina said in an interview in Corriere della Sera newspaper in which he said the authorities should not have allowed the MTV show.
"It's debased, exploited, commercialised. An image (of Rome) that in the end will have less value because it will have lost its fascination, its integrity, its beauty."
Eminem, OutKast
http://www.oneposter.com/UserData/Poster/Poster_2101.jpg
and Franz Ferdinand are among the acts hoping to pick up awards at the main show later on Thursday.