Marinella Soldi: Last News

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItalian state broadcaster RAI’s president Marinella Soldi, who is a former CEO of Discovery Networks Southern Europe, has a longstanding rapport with the Eurovision Song Contest. It’s the show on which she remembers first seeing ABBA, one of her favorite pop bands, “with their white flares.” Soldi more recently was mesmerized by Måneskin and the swagger of the Italian glam-rock band, which by triumphing last year at Eurovision, against all odds, caused RAI to be host broadcaster of the 2022 edition of this massive event. Måneskin will be performing during the grand finale on Saturday.In a rare interview, Soldi spoke to Variety about the politically heated lead-up to this year’s contest and the European Broadcasting Union’s decision to ban Russia from competing at Eurovision after the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItalian state broadcaster RAI has appointed as its president Marinella Soldi, a former CEO of Discovery Networks Southern Europe, and designated as managing director Carlo Fuortes, chief of the Rome Opera House Foundation.The planned management makeover was decided by the government headed by Prime Minister Mario Draghi.The two key appointments at the mammoth pubcaster still require approval by a parliamentary committee that oversees RAI, but are likely to pass this final hurdle.If they do, Soldi will replace outgoing RAI president Marcello Foa, a journalist, while Fuortes will step into the role held by veteran TV exec Fabrizio Salini, who prior to running RAI held top posts at Fox International