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Locals livid after businessman rents out complete metropolis’s historic venues
Kaoru Nakajima (right here pictured in 2016) is celebrating his birthday in Palermo (Image: GETTY)
A Japanese billionaire has sparked anger amongst some locals and officers after he rented out a number of key venues and cultural establishments in a serious Italian city to rejoice his birthday throughout a three-day extravaganza.
73-year-old entrepreneur Kaoru Nakajima’s arrival in Palermo, Sicily’s capital, on Wednesday cut up locals into those that noticed the birthday extravaganza attended by rich company as a chance for the native financial system and others who recoiled on the concept of cultural symbols being booked off by billionaires.
Among the venues he employed out for his 1,400 company, Mr Nakajima selected town’s most lavish inns – the five-star Villa Igiea, on Palermo’s beachfront, and the close by Grand Hotel et des Palmes.
Events for the birthday celebration, initially deliberate to mark the entrepreneur’s seventieth birthday in 2020 however postponed as a result of coronavirus pandemic, are being staged on the 132-year-old Politeama Theatre – amongst different venues.
While that is usually house to the Sicilian symphonic orchestra, the musicians should carry out elsewhere for the subsequent few days, because the theatre has been customised to Mr Nakajima’s need in order that his company can dance and dine.
The Teatro Massimo in Palermo is largest opera home in Italy (Image: GETTY)
Another historic venue reportedly made quickly off limits to locals by these birthday plans is the Teatro Massimo, the biggest opera home in Italy.
Among these sad with the arrival to Palermo of Mr Nakajima – who on Thursday evening kicked off his birthday celebration by attending a particular efficiency of the Don Giovanni opera carried out by esteemed maestro Riccardo Muti – is the president of the Sicilian area, Renato Schifani.
The politician lamented having learnt of the billionaire’s plans from the media and argued comparable large-scale plans ought to “go before a public order committee” previous to their approval.
Yet, he stated: “Neither the prefect of Palermo nor the city’s head of police were informed ahead of this event taking place and they should have been with more than 1,000 people attending.”
Mr Schifani additionally confessed to having safety considerations given the massive variety of folks flocking to town and high-profile occasions deliberate, as he defined: “I just hope that all goes well but this is certainly a very serious situation and it must never happen again.”
Separately, talking to the Italian ADN-Kronos news company, the president of the area stated: “I’m a liberal person who has always been open to the private sector but there’s a limit to everything.”
Renting out for personal use a historic venue as Teatro Massimo, he continued, opens an “unprecedented window” which might result in different people advancing comparable requests.
Mr Schifani’s views weren’t shared by Palermo’s mayor, Roberto Lagalla, who famous native authorities have autonomy in terms of making comparable choices concerning occasions and gatherings.
Kaoru Nakajima rented the Politeama theatre to rejoice his birthday (Image: GETTY)
He additionally branded “excessive” the concerns concerning the safety in Palermo over the subsequent few days, as he stated security shall be “fully guaranteed” by native forces.
The proven fact that Mr Nakajima selected Palermo as the placement for his birthday bash, Mr Lagalla added, places town beneath the worldwide highlight which may gain advantage its picture and native financial system.
Much like Mr Schifani and Mr Lagalla, many Italians see Mr Nakajima’s birthday as both a chance or an unwelcomed intrusion.
Writing on the Facebook web page of the Italian every day Repubblica, web person Enza Carollo stated: “These wealthy foreigners are welcome to our beautiful and badly hit city, too neglected by both its authorities and residents, often deprived of civil education and with behaviours revealing narrow-mindedness.”
On the Facebook web page of native news outlet Palermo Today, Agostino Marino claimed: “Everyone writing, thank you for choosing Palermo but did the people who wrote this understand that it won’t bring prestige or anything else?
“He solely confirmed off his energy by way of his cash as a result of he’s wealthy and may do it for the remaining his presence is of no use and won’t convey something besides cash to different wealthy individuals who do not care concerning the metropolis. Palermo will all the time stay soiled, deserted and deprived, thanks for what precisely?”
Mr Nakajima is not the primary billionaire to go to Sicily for a high-profile occasion. In current years, the influential Google Camp attracting celebrities and rich entrepreneurs has been held on the Mediterranean island.
Mr Nakajima began making his fortune by rising by way of the ranks of the American multi-level advertising firm AmWay, which sells family and wonder merchandise.
Over the years, the entrepreneur additionally made a reputation for himself as an writer of motivational books in addition to a singer and composer, profitable a prize on the Tokyo pop pageant – equal to the Eurovision Song Contest.