Springsteen concert must go ahead says Ferrara mayor

(ANSA) - ROME, MAY 18 - A concert by Bruce Springsteen in Ferrara must go ahead despite calls to call it off in solidarity with the Emilia Romagna flood victims, Mayor Alan Fabbri said Thursday, stressing that too much time and effort had been invested in the event and too many people from all over the world had booked hotels in the city, which is not in the worst affected area.
    He voiced regret, however, if some people thought that the Ferrara council was being "insensitive" to the nine lives lost in the region and the untold devastation caused by the floods and landslides.
    "(The concert must go on) seeing the enormous complexity involved, it can't be put off or cancelled after involving thousands of workers, and it has seen flow into the city thousands of tourists coming from all parts of the world, who bought an airline ticket, a hotel room for several days and have been organizing to get here for a long time.
    "I'm sorry if some people may have thought that Ferrara has remained insensitive to the tragedy in Romagna just because it has not cancelled the concert by The Boss. But I can assure you that, as former mayor of Bondeno which lived the 2012 earthquake on the front line, I never asked Italy or the Region to stop championships, events or company production out of solidarity towards us.
    "First because it doesn't solve anything, apart from creating other economic damage to areas, workers and businesses which have invested huge sums to realise the event, and second because it is a level of demagoguery that is not in may nature". (ANSA).