Photos from Pink Floyd's iconic floating concert in Venice that forced the city council to resign, 1989

The 1989 Pink Floyd concert on a floating stage next to San Marco Square in Venice gathered more than 200,000 fans and inadvertently made the mayor and the entire city council resign after his performance.

City officials arranged a free concert in Venice's historic Piazza San Marco that would be televised in more than 12 countries. The council justified this by saying that Venice "should be open to new trends, including rock music".

The news was met with enthusiasm by many, but also met with anger by many Venetians. Many old Venetians wanted to ban concerts. He realized that it would be a nightmare that would potentially destroy the ancient facades and monuments.

Also, it would destroy the cultural integrity of the event that was planned around the same time as the concert, Redinator (The Redeemer Festival).

"Historic centers should not be used for exhibits that are inconsistent with their historical nature," Augusto Salvadori, Venice's former commissioner for tourism, told the New York Times. "If they want the Rock, let them do it in the football stadium, but not in Piazza San Marco."

The city's superintendent for cultural heritage "vetoed the concert" three days before the date of 15 July, on the grounds that the amplified sound would damage the mosaics of St. Mark's Basilica, while the entire piazza held up too well under such weight. can drown. Too many people."

A settlement was finally reached when the band offered to lower the decibel level from 100 to 60 and perform on a floating stage 200 yards from the square, which "has a long history ... Floating Transient Architecture". ,

Filmed by state-run television RAI, the spectacle was "broadcast in over 20 countries with nearly 100 million viewers." Due to punctuality on live TV, some songs were skipped and some were shortened in place.

Around the stage, you could see many traditional Venetian boats, classic Venetian rowing boats such as the Sandalo and other classic yachts such as the Sanpierota.

San Marco Square was loaded to full capacity. Many in attendance have said that it was one of the greatest concerts they have ever experienced.

The audience really did the most damage. Officials said they left behind 300 tonnes of garbage and 500 cubic meters of empty cans and bottles. And because portable bathrooms were not available in the city, concertgoers relieved themselves on monuments and on walls.

Later in anger, residents shouted to Mayor Antonio Cassellati, who attempted public contact two days later, "Resign, resign, you've turned Venice into a toilet." Casalati did this with the entire city council, which had brought him to power.

According to David Gilmour: "The Venice show was a lot of fun, but it was also very tense and nerve-wracking. We had a specific length of show to do; the satellite broadcast meant we had to make it absolutely perfect.

We had a list of songs, and we shortened them, which we had never done before. On the floor in front of me was a large clock with a red digital read-out, and the start time of each number on a piece of paper. If we were approaching the starting time of the next number, I just had to finish the number we were on.

We had a really good time, but the city officials who had agreed to provide the services of security, toilets, food, were completely retracted from what they were supposed to do, and then all the problems that followed. Tried to blame us. ,

In the end, the band may have toppled the city government, but they put on an amazing performance—an Italian fanbase, and the millions who watched from home, they'll never forget.