Live-In-Venice Week 17/23 May 2021

As I am looking at my screen writing this, I realize there are only few days left to what might just turn out to be the biggest Live event in Venice for 2021, Live-In-Venice Week and my heart starts racing! Oh my, the adrenalin!

Will the stream work? Will the weather hold and be sunny? Will anybody watch it? Will the team cope with the stress of non-stop live interviews?

So many questions!

How it all started

But let’s start from the beginning, back to the first few days into 2021.

Italy is in a total lockdown, for the second time since the nightmare of the pandemic began. I receive a call from Thomas Link, founder of Sofa Tour, a company in Germany who organizes worldwide Live Virtual Tours and Events.

Thomas asks me if I could do a couple of live interviews/tours for his audience, talking about Venice, the current situation and how people can help. He knows about my project Anima Veneziana and feels he can bring some spotlight on the crowd funding.

As we talk, it is clear from the beginning that we are on the same wavelength with regards to sustainable tourism, on how Venice needs to change its image, on how it handles visitors and the need to educate people on travelling the correct way!

I tell him a couple of live interviews would not be enough for me to show all that Venice can offer and that the only way to get people to want to come to the city and stay longer than two days, is to show them how many things they can do when they get here.

And the best way is to get the Venetians themselves to speak and show the world the vast amount of experiences visitors can find.

We start to put down a list of people who we think should be interviewed and pretty soon it grows so long, I soon realize I will not be able to handle it all by myself and this will take more than a day of live streams.

The Live-In-Venice Week Team

Bring forward Cecelia, Monica, Daniela, Romena, Rebecca, Cinzia (all part now of our trusted team).

After very little convincing, they all agree to be part of the project and put forward more names of people they think should be interviewed.

By now the list has grown to over 60 people: it is pretty obvious the live event will need to be spread over few days and we will not be able to go around simply with our phones.

5 months later, after infinite hours spent at the computer setting up the site and organizing the schedule, more hours put into promoting and training, we are finally ready to put the show on.

In the meantime more people have joined our team of local reporters, like Sara and Cy or helping with the website and social medias, like Elena and Liliana.

Soon raising the curtains!

But we are here! Ready to start with our stream of live interviews starting on 17th May at 11.00 am (10am London, 5am NY, 2am Los Angeles).

The event will kick off with Ottica Urbani, one of the historic shops of Venice. Their eyewear is among the most famous in the world, so much so that Sir Elton John visits them every time he is in town!

What is Live In Venice Week?

What is Live In Venice Week? You are obviously asking!

Well, it is a jam-packed weeklong extravaganza series of live-streamed interviews and events from Venice.

The aim is to share the secrets of Venice with the world, through its own people, the Venetians!

From 17-23 May 2021, our local reporters will be meeting fashion designers, artisans, gallery owners, performers and local business owners. The whole week of interviews, meetings and events will be live-streamed on Facebook, Vimeo, Youtube and the Live-In-Venice website from 11 am to 8 pm.

Those following the event online will have the opportunity to get an insider look at iconic crafts like gondola making, glass blowing and mask design. But they will also meet a cornucopia of other businesses they never knew existed like the designer behind Elton John’s eccentric glasses, one of the last bead stringers in Venice, or the bookshop that’s frequently underwater. Each day will focus on one or two different themes: Fashion, Artisans, Art & Culture, Murano, Boats, Carnival, Performing Arts, Food & Drink and Kids.   

The aim is to give viewers an in-depth look at a city that visitors all too often only scrape the surface of. It is a way to show that Venice is not just the iconic monuments, but most importantly its people.

There are only around 50,000 residents left in Venice, but they remain the beating heart of the historic city. Their workshops and businesses are often hidden away down side streets, off the beaten track, but they are well worth taking the time to seek out.

People need to stay more than two days to really appreciate the city.

And of course, me being a Food blogger, how could I not organize also interviews, which covered Venetian cuisine?

Let me present you: Lunch with the Author, where each day I get to meet the most famous contemporary writers, Venetians and non-Venetians, who live in Venice, love the city and write about it in their books. And I will do so exploring Venice Food, each day meeting the people from the best restaurants, osterie and bacaro that the city can offer!

How can I watch Live-in-Venice Week

Easy peasy!

For Free directly from our website live-in-venice.com: from Monday 17th at 11am (Italian time) there will be a continuous live stream throughout the day, till the end of the event. A few days later all the videos of the interviews will be available for people to see.

You can also watch it directly from our Facebook page: each event will be streamed, recorded and later left on the page, available for viewing for those who could not watch it live.

If you prefer to watch only some events, then go to our Facebook page, register to the event/s you like, that way you will get a notification of when the event is live!

Told you it was easy!

So, sit down, grab your popcorn and let us bring Venice to you!

You can also follow us on social media:

Twitter:  @liveveniceweek

Instagram: @liveinveniceweek

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqrMRkpSkAn8gL1j3nJZV4w

For more information/material: info@monicacesarato.com