BROADCAST DATE
9th – 20th February 2007

BROADCAST TIMES
9am – Midnight (15 hours)

PEDESTRIAN FIGURES
100,000 x 12 days = Total = 1,200,000 for the entire
duration of the event

It's well known that Italians know how to party and the Carnival is one of the biggest events of the year.

Eye Candy is once again positioning their giant outdoor broadcast screen in the heart of the action, in the prestigious St Marks Square, where the festivities and celebrations are concentrated, with an estimated 100,000 people per day attending.

2007 is the tricentenary of the birth of the writer and playwright Carlo Goldoni, one of the most famous artists in Venetian literature/theatre. And more than anyone else, he will represent the Carnival's "folklore", its popularity and its being "everybody's event", with no exceptions.

The Carnival in Venice was probably born in 1162 A.D., as a celebration for the victory of the "Repubblica della Serenissima" (the name of the State of Venice in those times), in the war against Ulrico, Patriarch of Aquileia. St.Mark's Square was - as nowadays - the heart of the feast. One of the most ancient traditions was the FLIGHT OF THE ANGEL, the opening of the Carnival: a tightrope walker reached the seat of the Doge (the governor) from St.Mark's Bell Tower. This ceremony was cancelled in past years for safety reason; however, this tradition has now been renewed by an acrobat artist

The Venice Carnival, which revives the traditional masked balls and elaborate costumes of the 18th century, is the highlight of the city's year. St Mark's square, the theatres, and the famous campi burst into life with musical, theatrical, acrobatic and dance performances

With a two-week series of processions, masquerades, traditional ceremonies, music and all-round festivities among the canals, squares and palaces of this ancient city, the Venice Carnival is one of the most celebrated and fascinating events in Europe. The whole city is filled with musicians, acrobats, theatre troupes and revellers from all over the world, and for those with a more aristocratic bent, there are dozens of masked balls, brunches in period costume and gala dinners to attend.

The carnival, with its attendant tradition of mask-wearing, has existed in some form or another since the 13th century. The masks themselves - along with the traditional bauto (hood and cape), tabarro (cloak) and tricorn hat - were favoured because they conferred complete anonymity on their wearers.

ST. MARK’S SQUARE

Napoleon described St Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco) as the "finest drawing room in Europe" when he beheld this magnificent square, originally laid out in 12C on what was an island. The Venetians do, indeed, treat it as a vast open-air salon, including it on the route of the passagiata, the Italian ritual of the evening stroll, and using it as a setting for their major ceremonies. The matched arcades which surround it on three sides, giving it that resemblance to an unroofed hall, were built over a period of four centuries. Its world-famous cafés, such as Florian, compete with each other with their resident orchestras - not altogether happily when two or three are playing at the same time.

"Is Venice the Carnival ? No Sirs, pardon me: Carnival is Venice!"

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