Rock concert as the biggest social event...

Ministers, directors of the largest Croatian companies and university professors sang at Sting's concert in the Pula Arena: Ivan Jakovcic was the loudest, whistling after every song, and Prof. Velimir Srica descended from the VIP box to the ground floor and danced tirelessly

Just like three years ago, last week's concert by one of the most famous British musicians, Gordon Sumner - Sting, was not only a great musical event, but also a social event. Because among the tens of thousands of fans of the 49-year-old star, there were almost more of his peers than teenagers.

Namely, when four members of the Government, the dean of the faculty, several faculty professors, a dozen CEOs of the most powerful Croatian companies, editors of weekly and daily newspapers and famous lawyers gather at a rock concert, the musical atmosphere is no longer the only reason for coming. This time, Sting's concert was enjoyed by everyone, from Ivan Jakovcic, Minister of European Integration, and Veljko Ostojic, Deputy Minister of Tourism, to anonymous visitors who travelled to Istria from almost all of Croatia, Slovenia and BiH, and several hundred foreign tourists who happened to be in Pula this weekend.

The crowd in front of the Arena started already three hours before the concert. It was created by six trucks with equipment that, due to customs vicissitudes, arrived literally at the last moment from Slovenia. Namely, Sting played his concert in Pula with the same lighting, speakers and scenography with which his compatriots - the group "Jethro Tull" performed a few days earlier. The equipment, with which Sting performs, is from Bolzano, Italy, where he gave a concert the day before, due to too short a deadline, it was sent to Ljubljana, his next destination.

It is known that Sting has been avoiding all contact with journalists for months, more precisely since the scandal in Sanremo. That's why he landed in Pula by charter around 1:30 p.m. in complete secrecy. Likewise, until the last moment, it was uncertain in which Istrian hotel he would stay. The most famous private hotel "Valsabbion" in Pješcana uvala was also mentioned as a possibility, but the organizers gave up on that idea due to the small capacity. For practical reasons, they wanted to accommodate the entire team in the same hotel.

From the well-guarded airport building, a column of dark limousines headed to Pula's "Histria", a hotel where a dozen sea-view suites had already been reserved for Sting and his entourage. The main star did not enjoy the view too much because, according to some information, Sting spent most of the time sleeping, and already at 5.30 pm he appeared at the sound rehearsal. During that time, his percussionist Manu Katche had lunch with Split singer-songwriter Gibonni, who tried to persuade the dark-skinned drummer to produce his next CD.

At the same time, the catacombs of the nearly 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheatre were already remodelled into exclusive salons where a reception for special guests began at 7:30 p.m. Since this year's general sponsor of Sting's Brand New Day world tour is the strongest hardware IT company "Compaq", their representatives in Zagreb, the agency "Status Grupa", organized an exclusive party for business partners from Croatia. Thus, the list of guests who had the opportunity to shake hands with Sting included Minister Ivan Jakovcic and his adviser Erik Mohorovicic, then Veljko Ostojic, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Andelko Dvoršak from the Tax Administration of the Ministry of Finance, Professor Slavko Krajcar, Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, Velimir Srica, Professor at the Faculty of Economics, Adolf Matejka, Director of Croatiabanka, Boris Nemšic, Director of VIP-Net, and many others.

Since "Compaq" does not yet have its own representative office in Croatia, "Status Grupa" took care of the complete catering, which arrived on the eve of the reception from the kitchen of the Pula hotel "Valsabbion". Owner Sonja Ostojic prepared a rich menu for the occasion, consisting of numerous Mediterranean and continental delicacies. The menu included 15 dishes, so guests could enjoy, for example, a symphony of sea bass, stuffed eggs a la "Valsabbion", fish pâté in puff pastry, ombola and sausages in a bed of arugula and pine nuts, ham in a bread crust with wild asparagus, the Istrian specialty roll on or ostrich egg frittata with wild asparagus and truffles.

And while ten thousand impatient Sting fans in the stands and in the ground floor had fun alternately standing up and sitting down, creating the atmosphere of Latin American football matches, Sting, as usual, started chanting for half an hour before the concert. Around 40 VIPs were already waiting for him at the carefully planned "meet & greet" party, so Sting's American manager Robin Irvin walked nervously through the corridors apologizing for the 15-minute delay. Namely, before his arrival, the Croatian hosts received brief instructions for organizing the reception, so that both Sting and the guests would feel as comfortable as possible.

In the short instruction, among others, it was written that "Sting will join them for 15-20 minutes before going on stage, which will be enough to shake hands with everyone and take a few group photos." The hosts were asked not to insist on individual photos and not to form a line, because "Sting would not feel comfortable then". They were also kindly asked that "the number of guests should not exceed 40, if there are more, Sting will not join them."

At 8:30 p.m. the party could begin. Dressed in dark trousers and a black sleeveless shirt, he amazed all the guests who saw for themselves his impeccable style. In a good mood, he avoided formal handshakes and mostly greeted those present with a "give-me-five", not lingering with anyone in a long conversation, but despite this, according to those present, he left everyone with the impression of a friendly and direct person. At exactly 8:55 p.m. he left the party, ran onto the stage and opened the concert with the song A Thousand Years.

In almost two hours of performance, old hits and new songs from the latest album alternated, among which 'Desert Rose', although noticeably adapted for a concert performance, and without Algerian Cheb Mami, brought the audience to their feet and the stands. While the audience mostly mumbled or listened to the lyrics of the songs from the new album, hits like 'If You Love Somebody Set Them Free', 'Roxanne', 'Englishman in New York' or 'If I Ever Lose My Faith in You' were sung by the entire Arena in almost word-for-word synchronization. That's why 'Every Breath You Take' and the ballad 'Fragile', which sounded identical to the studio performances, were the best choice to greet the Pula audience ten minutes before 11 pm. Among those swaying to the rhythm of Sting's music was Zagreb lawyer Cedo Prodanovic, but it is interesting that a big Sting fan, Professor Velimir Srica, was the only guest from the party who descended from the honourable row to the ground floor, tirelessly dancing and singing until the last minute of the concert. Comparing the concert from three years ago, Professor Srica revealed why Sting is his favourite musician:

"Since I myself played the guitar at one period of my life, Sting was my role model because he perfectly combines pop and jazz with a strong author's approach. That's why I'm equally delighted with the last concert and this one, and the atmosphere in the audience was especially impressive, which was full of positive charge. It seems to me that even Sting did not remain indifferent to that, which is why he even came for an encore twice.

I know most of his lyrics by heart, and the favourite line that I sing often is certainly 'be yourself no matter what they say'. That's my life philosophy, which I've always stood for!"

The other authorities of the Croatian political and economic life also forgot to maintain dignity in the line of honour, so ministers, professors, and businessmen gave themselves a break by singing at the top of their lungs. However, according to reliable information, among the loudest was Minister Jakovcic, who stood up, sang, clapped and whistled uncontrollably during the breaks between songs. Jakovcic's departure to the "regular" audience was only prevented by severe pain in his knee, which he injured in a recent football match between IDS and SDP. The injury was so serious that he ended up in a Lovran clinic last week for a puncture. However, everyone followed his behaviour with sympathy, commenting that the new government clearly has different habits than the previous one, which mostly had a great time with lamb and ganges.

In the dark "Mercedes", in which he came to the concert, Sting soon left the Arena, only to "occupy" the interior of the "Valsabbion" restaurant ten minutes later, together with a 13-member team. That there was a "Very Important Person" in the restaurant could not be concluded by anything except the two muscular young men who decently observed passers-by and guests on the terrace from the door. According to those present, apart from the request to be completely alone, Sting did not have any special wishes, so he even allegedly remained indifferent to a dozen models from Pula, who decorated the interior with their presence especially for that occasion. Sting and company enjoyed the ultimate sumptuous dinner much more, which, as he himself once admitted, they usually do after every concert. When asked how he endures touring, Sting then replied: "Life on tour isn't so bad. I travel with my friends, we have a good time, wherever we go, we eat great - in short - we celebrate all the time!"

Sting's performance was also critically observed by a dozen of the most famous Croatian music critics. Unlike the rest of the audience, who were counting the positive vibes, they were, as per their official assignment, counting the shortcomings. Darko Glavan, Ante Batinovic, Bojan Mušcet and Hrvoje Horvat have probably already described their impressions of the concert in their columns. But the day after the Ljubljana concert, Drazen Vrdoljak stated: "Unlike the rest of my colleagues, I was also in Ljubljana and I can say that both concerts were identical in terms of the repertoire of 19 songs and the quality of Sting's performance. Although the audience in the Arena left the concert satisfied, I think that Pula was still left short due to the poorer sound system, so the Ljubljana concert was much more interesting for music connoisseurs."

(c) Nacional by Paula Bobanoviæ