Lovers of popular music are in for a busy few months, with a series of top-level performers coming up. In the spring Queen will be in Rome on 4 April at Palalottomatico as part of the European tour. The reunited group will have Paul Rogers, of Free and Bad Company fame, as vocalist with the unenviable task of replacing Freddie Mercury.

Tickets for the U2 concert in Rome on 23 July and in Milan on 20 July sold out within minutes and it has been announced that they will perform a second concert in Milan on 21 July. Tickets for this concert will go on sale at 00.01 on 25 February on www.ticketone.it.

REM will be back in Rome on 10 June at the Olympic stadium after an absence of ten years and the organisers of FIESTA, the summer music and dance festival held at La Capanelle at LIppodromo the race track, are promising Joss Stone, Jamiroquai, Tori Amos, two surviving members of Buena Vista Social club and maybe Christina Aguilera and Shakira.