“More than 50% of the audience comes from abroad” – Torino Oggi

Todays Festival is preparing for its ninth edition dedicated to music, art and entertainment. Three days of musical kermis spread in the outskirts of the city that will take place from 25 to 27 August.

“Since 2015, TOdays has focused on current and current events – explains artistic director Gianluca Gozzi – what we want to do is a portrait of contemporary art and music, trying to make something new known to the public.”

For this goal, a billboard that “goes beyond the ordinary and everyday” was created.

Among these stand out Christine W Queenswinner of six Grammys, has played on stages such as Coachella, and first arrived in Italy on the TOdays stage.

“We want to confuse what has happened with what is to come. That is why I advise you not to lose names like WilcoAnd Verdinaand then discover lots of little gems that will get people talking about themselves.”

The only festival in Italy to achieve gender equality in the programme, this year it hosts a new section dedicated to children with a special date on Sunday afternoons at Cecchi Point. A free event in the style of Zecchino D’oro and in the presence, among others, of artists such as Baustelle.

Next year, the tenth day’s birthday is approaching. “Since its inception, we have championed the festival project, which is an immersive experience, in which the name of the artist is not important, but a whole series of ideas that follow one another on stage.”

“The festival was born by dismantling traditional paradigms with an event at the end of August, in the suburbs, in former industrial settings, far from the court yards and on a popular ticket.”

“He immediately established himself on a human scale. Over the years he’s grown and we’ve brought on a number of bands and names that have since become popular.”

But in light of the event’s 10th anniversary, the director remains grounded. “If we organize an event at the European level, we will already work on the tenth version, but out of necessity and choice we focus on this version. Once that is over, if the conditions are right, we will work for a better version next year.”

A three-day event that attracts more than 50% of the audience from outside Turin. “We have fans from central and southern Italy, but also from Spain, France, Germany and Switzerland, but also from England, Ireland, America, Australia and Eastern Europe. All this without campaigning abroad.”

The 2023 edition is already sold out for three days of season tickets. “We usually host 10,000 to 13,000 people every year, and that counts no less,” Gozzi confirms.

TOdays is one of those local festivals, such as Kappa FuturFestival, which attracts more and more foreign audiences, demonstrating Turin’s ability to host major events.

From this rediscovered ability, the premise of bringing festivals like Primavera Sound to town was born. But there are those who say that it is necessary first to create more networks between the various organizers of the festival and to strengthen the franchises that already exist.

“The real question is: Do we need something more? Does this demand exist from the local area? I think it is necessary after the famine to organize and propose public projects that respond to a real and concrete demand, otherwise we will have more supply than demand, it seems that more people will go to concerts, ”comments the artistic director.

“If it becomes additional supply that saturates the existing supply that can grow, it creates an unclaimed model.”

On networks, he adds: “The only networks that work here are automatic networks, that is, those that arise from concrete needs, not those imposed from above.

Institutions and individuals can work for growth and export. Instead of importing a brand, perhaps we should work on the region’s resources and uniqueness. We really need to evaluate what interests us more: the content (i.e. the culture) or the container (i.e. the brand)”

“Finally, in Italy, it will be necessary to start calling things by their name. One thing is entertainment, another is the cultural event that shapes the audience. This is a different function that is born in the territory and grows with it.”