The Lifeguard of Italy, born Gabriele Pagliarani, now dresses in yellow and awaits the Tour de France. Over the past few days he has stopped off on his bicycle to visit all the monuments of the city. And now until the big day of Florence-Rimini, the first stage of the 2024 Tour on Saturday 29 June, he will remain dressed strictly in yellow. As was the case for the National Alpine Gathering, according to Pagliarani the Tour de France must be approached with the right approach “because it is a media event without equals, TV channels from all over the world are connected to it and we must understand that in addition to the sporting event there is the echo of the name of Rimini everywhere. From abroad they will see our landscapes, from the hinterland to the beach, it is an opportunity that is given to us and we must not waste it”.
Gabriele, in addition to being the Lifeguard of Italy, you are also a cycling enthusiast. What does it mean to have the Tour de France on the territory?
“It is one of the most followed sporting events in the world, so we must not stop only at the economic returns that will be there on June 29th, we must understand that the stage is the flagship of an advertising campaign. It will allow the world to see the beauty of our hinterland, of San Marino and our beaches. It must be a business card to entice those who see us on TV to come on holiday to Rimini, which is why we must be ready.”
Tour de France an opportunity for mass tourism or just for cycling enthusiasts?
“Both things can affect those who love the sea as well as those aiming for holidays linked to cycle tourism. We must communicate that here we have organized beaches and services like few others, but also excellent opportunities for another type of tourism. I cycle to Ravenna and Fano three times a week and every time I fall in love with observing our landscapes. We have to be good at explaining it. Anyone who understands tourism knows that visibility is everything, things have to be done: for example, I’m a drop in the sea, but I always try to be positive, to work hard to publicize my Romagna. It’s true, that of the Italian Lifeguard is a role that I like, I immerse myself in the situation, but everything is needed to get people talking.”
What are your predictions for the Tour weekend?
“We know that we will have 70/80 thousand people who will stop for a few days in the city. These events certainly help hoteliers and lifeguards in the immediate future and then create business for bars, restaurants and shops. It must be said with all honesty that in this June the beach is alive on the weekends, but during the week things are slower until the school exams are finished. But we really have to look beyond the date of the race, we have to create a nice postcard because they are looking at us and this must serve to entice new customers to come to Rimini in the future”.
Among other things, Italy’s lifeguard is already on the bikes dressed in yellow…
“I wanted to do a small social campaign with photos and videos of the Italian Lifeguard dressed in yellow. It won’t be much, but it must serve to make us known. Once the Tour de France is over, the Italian lifeguard will also go on Tour, I will tour various regions to visit a long series of bathing establishments. It is a project to open a discussion and dialogue with other localities and to say Rimini and the Bagnino d’Italia are at the forefront. Last year I tackled 52 stages, this year I will focus on Calabria, Sardinia, Sicily and Elba Island. I know that I am not understood or criticized by many, but I believe it is wrong to sit idle or criticize everything that is new. This is why I do everything to make myself known, to get people talking about my city and I also don’t deny it to create a character with the Bagnino d’Italia”.
