Carinaro (Italy), 1949. President of Live Nation Spain and one of the most important promoters of our country (Michael Jackson, Madonna, Frank Sinatra),

Pino Sagliocco

receives this Thursday the title of ambassador of the World Tourism Organization (OMT) .

How has your appointment as ambassador of the World Tourism Organization been?


We were in Georgia [the UNWTO Secretary General, Zurab Pololikashvili, is from the Caucasian country], at a world congress during the pandemic where we were asked to make music part of tourism, because it has always been a little more associated with sport .

Tourism has never been talked about in music, when it is one of the best travel companions: Just look at how many times we have traveled to a city to go see a concert or a festival.

In addition, during the pandemic music has been the one that has most inspired and motivated.

I also believe that people have to travel with enthusiasm again.


What does the appointment entail?


I understand that it is an award that I receive on behalf of all the promoters, organizers and musicians, who at this moment are all true ambassadors.

It is more a symbolic acknowledgment of what music is than of any specific aspect, so that we continue creating emotional events that stimulate, that contribute to music tourism becoming more active every day.

Because, more than ever, the musical offer is now worldwide.

Hopefully we can do it without fear, in a free world.


How would you define the economic impact of music?


Of course, music always boosts the economy.

A musical event requires that you can move thousands of people, sometimes hundreds of thousands.

That entails taking planes, hotels, restaurants, shops, taxis... Everything that moves this network around that makes the city feel alive again, which is equal in intensity when there is a sporting event, a big match.

In addition, there are no longer musical events only in Barcelona and Madrid: in Spain there are 500 festivals, in every corner of the country.

In this way, music displaces many people and feeds many people.

Thousands and thousands of people who work around it and all the synergies it moves.

That is a very important lung for the economy.

And not only from an economic point of view, but also emotionally and spiritually,


The eternal question: Does music make the world more livable?


If it were not for Verdi's 'Va pensiero', the unification of Italy would not have taken place.

But it is that all great social transformation has always been with music.

Always to make society friendlier, more humane and, above all, more supportive.

He has raised his voice against the great injustices.

Thus, the Nelson Mandela concert helped him receive the attention he deserved.

The one from Amnesty International in Chile helped Pinochet leave.

Woodstock took a stand against the Vietnam War...


You could retire with everything you've earned.


It's not a question of money: music is a passion and a hobby for me.

When I did the Rolling Stones concert in Madrid a few weeks ago, it was wonderful to participate in this again and see thousands of people together.

Like today with Queen at the Wizink Center... Seeing people enjoying themselves is a joy and an illusion.

Also, I'm not alone.

Because another of my goals is that now we are all together - the musicians, the promoters, everyone - trying to be much more participatory, that we get much more involved.

For example, during the pandemic we have realized that, being desperate, we have not had a voice to represent us before the institutions.

Now we are trying to fight to create an academy of music, that we have our awards, just like the world of cinema.

I think that we all have a commitment that is not about seeking our well-being and living in peace.

And every day more, so that we help each other more, so that the sector is better represented and in the future we can have a better voice.

Therefore, I believe, as the great artists say, that I will die doing a concert.


What does it take to do your job?


In music you have to learn two things.

When people ask me what my job is, I say I'm a firefighter and an ego manager.

If you don't do that, you'll end up pretty shorn.

It seems easy to do a concert or a festival, but it's not easy at all.

It is very difficult and requires such great and well-structured organizational complexity that everything has to be perfect for everything to flow.

In this industry many times people have gotten into it without knowing.


I mentioned earlier about having a single voice.

How?


One of the great problems that all of us in the music industry have had has been that: that we have not been united.

And I think that the administrations have always seen the music sector, each one on their own.

That is why having a voice that is raised very high so that in the future we can never again feel helpless as we have been during covid.

But this will never happen again.


You were born poor in a small town in southern Italy.

What does a trajectory like yours count?


That in this life we ​​all have the possibility of being what we want.

All dreams come true if you believe in them.

Wherever you are born, wherever you come from, the world is yours.

Let life put opportunities before your eyes.

Little by little you discover your way without knowing why or how.

You never have to look back.

It is one of the things I learned from a young age: the past is over, the future does not exist, you have to know how to live in the moment.


You recently organized the Barcelona Beach Festival, which was about to be canceled due to administrative obstacles.

His is not the only case.

What is happening in Barcelona?


I am sad for what I have just experienced.

It is something that has broken my heart, because it is a city that I love very much.

I have done in Barcelona and it has been one of my points of reference.

I was even part of the creation of the song by Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé for the Olympic Games.

And I actively participated during the 80's, doing the Rolling Stones, Madonna, Frank Zappa, Elton John... All from Barcelona all over the world.

Barcelona was at the forefront, it was always a benchmark and there was always great collaboration at an institutional level: I remember Pasqual Maragall, although I have an excellent relationship with everyone.

But lately I have suffered a lot.

There is a lot of bureaucracy and sometimes, more than helping, problems are created.

It has been really very difficult,

because it is something incomprehensible that 24 hours before they cancel a festival, although later I have seen the whole world lined up so that it does not happen, because they realized that these things cannot happen.

I am still in shock of how something like this can be done 24 hours after an event without understanding the consequences.

But hey, that's not the topic today, but tourism.


What song do you want to play at your funeral?


'Rockin' in the free world', by Neil Young.

Because I would like to continue living music in a free world.



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  • Final Interview

  • music

  • Barcelona

  • madonna

  • Montserrat Caballe

  • Michael Jackson

  • Nelson Mandela