Check in Georgia grand opening: Ramazzotti performs tonight

World famous Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti is promising an impressive show in Georgia tonight at his performance at Tbilisi Sports Palace.

Ramazzotti is part of the Check in Georgia governmental initiative involving performing arts events and festivals spanning eight months.

Tonight the Italian singer will open a series of concerts which will also feature Grammy Award-winning pop artist Robbie Williams, American pop-rock band Maroon 5, Spanish tenor Jose Carreras and many other acclaimed musicians in different parts of Georgia.

Ramazzotti and Georgia's Minister of Culture Mikheil Giorgadze at the press conference. Photo by the Culture Ministry's press office.

Ramazzotti arrived in Tbilisi yesterday accompanied by a large support team and equipment, transported in five trailer trucks. His show tonight will begin with a 3D animation.

When speaking to journalists a short time after he landed in Tbilisi, he thanked the city for a warm welcome and he promised to sing all his hits tonight. He also said he would dedicate his performance to Prince, the iconic American musician who died earlier this week.

Georgia’s Minister of Culture and Monument Protection Mikheil Giorgadze said Italian professionals would film a documentary about Ramazzotti’s Tbilisi voyage, which would be shown on Italian television in July.

Ramazzotti and Georgia's Minister of Culture Mikheil Giorgadze at the press room. Photo by the Culture Ministry's press office.

Meanwhile Italy’s Ambassador to Georgia held a special reception in honour of the Italian singer in Tbilisi last evening. Georgian artists and politicians attended the event and met Ramazzotti.

Vice Prime Minister Kakha Kaladze, who is a former football star having played for A.C Milan, attended the reception and said he and Ramazzotti were long-time friends although the singer was a Juventus fan.

The concert will start at 7pm tonight. Ticket sales show local and international fans will attend.

The Government's eight-month cultural program Check in Georgia was announced on April 7. Within the project, 19 locations in Georgia are set to host 35 festivals and numerous concerts between April 24 and December 4.

The initiative will bring under its umbrella the traditional annual festivals and events including the Fest I Nova contemporary art festival, the folk art and culture festival Art-Gene, the Georgian International Festival of Theatre, the Tbilisi International Film Festival and Batumi Music Festival.

Organisers of the program said Check in Georgia aimed to transform the country into a vibrant cultural hub, boost tourism and support creation of new jobs for local population.

The project announcement said it would become annual and feature "progressively more diverse program" every year.