Italian singer Francesco Gabbani falls ill mid-concert in Sicily, plans to perform same evening

Incident at Letojanni

On the evening of 12 August, Francesco Gabbani took the stage at the Letojanni Summer Festival in Piazza Cagli, in the province of Messina, Sicily. The 43-year-old singer had barely begun the set when, after performing five songs, he began to feel unwell. The fifth song in the setlist was "Spazio tempo," and at its conclusion Gabbani left the stage and did not return. Videos circulating online showed him appearing fatigued from the earliest minutes of the show, with an unusually calm demeanor and some vocal imprecision that hinted something was wrong before the abrupt stop. Thousands of fans had gathered in the square since the afternoon for the free concert.

Mayor Alessandro Costa addressed the crowd after a brief wait, announcing that the concert could not continue. Gabbani was treated backstage, where he received an IV drip, and was subsequently transported to hospital for medical examinations.

“Francesco Gabbani has had a mild health episode that requires further examinations. The evening cannot continue. The artist is sorry, but health comes first.”

Gabbani speaks out

The following day, 13 August, Gabbani published a video on his Instagram page reassuring fans about his condition. He attributed the episode to a combination of intense heat and accumulated travel fatigue during his summer tour, which began on 12 June. He apologized to attendees who had not seen the full concert and thanked the medical team that assisted him promptly.

“Yesterday evening during the concert I had a health episode, something that had never happened to me in this way, which did not allow me to continue staying on stage. I had to interrupt the concert and I am very sorry.”

He explained that he had tried with all his strength to continue but could not manage it, and expressed regret for fans who had come to see the full show.

“Probably it was a combination of heat, tiredness from travel, from the movements of these days. Often we forget that to get from one place to another there is all the tiredness of the journey and the hassle it involves. But this is part of the game.”

Tour continues

Gabbani confirmed he had recovered and intended to perform that same evening, 13 August, at the municipal stadium in Sant'Angelo di Brolo, also in the province of Messina, for another free concert. He said the team would try to reschedule the Letojanni date, though no timeline was specified.

“Today fortunately I am well, I have recovered and so I have every intention of taking the stage this evening and returning to do the concert at Sant'Angelo di Brolo. I can't wait, I will give it my all.”

His summer tour, which started on 12 June, features songs from across his career, including "Amen," which marks its tenth anniversary this year, and "Occidentali's Karma," with which he won the Sanremo Music Festival. "Spazio tempo," the last song he performed before falling ill, has nearly 40 million streams on Spotify and is the fifth single from his 2022 album "Volevamo essere felici." Upcoming tour dates listed include 19 August in Presicce for the I Colori dell'Olio festival, 22 August in Tagliacozzo, and 27 August at the Vinovo racetrack.