Zlatan Ibrahimovic, in October 2019. -

Johan NILSSON / TT News Agency / AFP

We knew the versatility of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but we would not necessarily have imagined in the field of transalpine entertainment.

However, the Swedish footballer will be, from March 2 to 6, the permanent guest (“ospite fisso”, literally “fixed guest”) of the Sanremo Festival in Italy.

That is to say, he will appear during the five televised direct in a role relating to either the happening or the co-presentation.

The organization of the festival formalized the information on Tuesday by specifying that the AC Milan player “will not miss any match” of his team.

However, as the Sky Sports site points out, the “Rossoneri” must face at home - that is to say 300 km from Sanremo - the Udine club, on March 3…

Will Zlatan manage to duplicate himself?

The question will undoubtedly figure among those which will be jostled in the discussions in Italy when the hour of the musical barnum will come.

If you have never heard of the Sanremo Festival, know that it is THE great Italian song competition that has been held since 1951 in the said town nestled on the Ligurian coast and it is this event that inspired the Eurovision Song Contest. .

Among the participants, we find both emerging talents and names well established in the transalpine musical landscape.

“More important than football!

"

“This festival is what is most important in Italy, more than football!

», Assured

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a young Italian crossed during the competition in 2018. His assertion is probably hardly exaggerated.

The five evenings achieved audience scores that would make the French channels green with envy.

During the 2020 edition, an average of 10 million viewers attended each evening.

The final garnered a 60% audience share, meaning that out of ten people watching TV in Italy at that time, six were tapping into Rai 1 to watch the show.

In short, Italy is passionate about Sanremo, vibrates to the rhythm of the competing songs, or has fun criticizing the show fiercely: it is a staple of popular culture on the other side of the Alps.

All the more reason to be intrigued by the presence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in this raout presented by Amadeus - the local Jean-Luc Reichmann also artistic director of the Festival.

Baggio and Totti before him

Will he succeed in the perilous exercise of shining without overshadowing the artists?

Will he go the distance?

Because, it's a fact: the evenings, which start around 9 p.m., all end after midnight.

Even after one in the morning.

Even after two in the morning.

In addition to the twenty candidate songs which follow one another on the stage, the show includes musical or humorous interludes.

And this is usually where “permanent guests” have a role to play.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not the first footballer invited to Sanremo.

Antonio Cassano (in 2010), Roberto Baggio (in 2013) and Francesco Totti (in 2017) held this role.

But during a single evening.

The permanent guest of the 2020 edition was the singer Tiziano Ferro who, over the five evenings, took up titles from his repertoire and classics of Italian song.

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