Scalabrini said the lack of Neapolitan influences in John's repertoire was not an issue. "Neapolitan culture cannot be a closed off phenomenon – and besides, Elton John sang the Neapolitan song O Sole Mio for the first time ever," he added. "The audience was crying with emotion."
Regional officials had later tried to book Paul McCartney to perform, Scalabrini said, but the plan was abandoned when the centre-left governor was voted out of office in regional elections this year.
"We would have used EU funds to pay McCartney too," he added. "It would have been a great concert."
