The partnership with UniCredit follows a 14m euro joint grant from the bank and Fondazione Cariverona to the City of Verona for the restoration of the Amphitheatre
UniCredit and TicketOne have won the tender called by the Arena Foundation for the management of its ticketing services throughout 2022-2024, including the 100th edition of the Opera Festival with performances at the Arena di Verona and the Teatro Filarmonico.
UniCredit, a pan-European banking group with strong Italian roots, continues its long-standing support for the Arena di Verona Opera Festival, which the bank has backed since 1994. The Roman Amphitheatre that hosts the festival is one of the great Italian symbols known worldwide and has recently been restored thanks to a 14 million euro joint grant from UniCredit and Fondazione Cariverona.
Andrea Orcel, CEO of UniCredit, commented: "The Opera Festival of the Arena di Verona is one of the most famous and highly appreciated artistic and musical events in the world, not least because of its unique setting. The Arena is a symbol of Italy's vast cultural heritage which UniCredit is committed to actively promote, always making it accessible to an increasingly wide audience."
TicketOne, a subsidiary of CTS Eventim, will leverage its extensive experience in e-commerce, as an undisputed leader in live entertainment ticketing in Italy. TicketOne already provides the technological platform and pre-sale services for the main Italian opera houses, including Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Teatro dell'Opera in Rome, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome and Teatro Massimo in Palermo. For the Arena Foundation of Verona, TicketOne will also distribute tickets abroad through its international network of other Eventim group companies' websites.
Stefano Lionetti, CEO of TicketOne commented: "We are proud to be beside one of the most important and prestigious entertainment venues in the world, known for the magic of the context and the charm of the performances - declared. Thanks to the continuous evolution of our technological platform, we will aim to develop online and mobile sales and introduce innovative features such as e-tickets. Our commitment to improving the process of purchasing tickets and season tickets for the Arena di Verona and promoting the Foundation's operas and concerts will be maximum ".
Online sales for the 2022 edition of the Arena Opera Festival have already been open for several weeks on the website www.arena.it, with access to a rich program of 46 evenings, 5 opera productions and 3 special events.
Cecilia Gasdia, Superintendent and Artistic Director of the Arena di Verona Foundation, expresses her gratitude and satisfaction: "Our sincere thanks go to UniCredit for these decades of collaboration and shared successes, also significantly supporting the Arena Foundation's sales growth in foreign markets, such as German-speaking countries with the Eventim group. At a difficult time for everyone like the one we are currently experiencing, we are truly delighted that UniCredit has decided to continue being at our side in its sponsorship of the Opera Festival until 2024, and doubly pleased because we will be celebrating the 100th festival in the Arena together. Likewise we would like to welcome Ticketone, for its excellent and very quick start, by no means an easy nor straightforward task after twenty years with a different system".
Milan, 28 March 2022
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