13-year-old Croatian Zoe Sestan wins the 2024 Grand Prix

sanremoJunior

Last weekend, at Ariston Theater in Sanremoa thirteen-year-old Croatian won the prestigious Grand Prix 2024 in the 15th edition of sanremoJuniorthe international singing competition reserved for singers between 6 and 15 years old. Zoe Sestan with Stand up received unanimity from the qualified jury, chaired by the singer/songwriter and composer Franco Fasano.

The other coveted prize awarded was the Prix ​​Committee sanremoJuniorwhich went to finalist Australia, Ethan Koekemoer (13 years old), who received it from the vice president of sanremoJunior, Dennis Alberti.

The other important recognitions – the Student Award (voted by over 120 students from schools in the province present in the room) – and the Alice “Artemis” Viganò Award – (in memory of the young clarinettist of the sanremoJunior orchestra, who passed away prematurely) decreed by the musicians of the sanremoJunior Orchestra, brilliantly conducted by Maestro Mario Natale – went respectively to the 12-year-old Indonesian Aurellie Gianina Zanta Kacaribu and to the 13 year old Magzhan Mynbaev (Kazakhstan).

26 nations performed, setting a new record: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, France, Georgia, Greece, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan , Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia, USA and Uzbekistan.

GEF (Global Education Award)

Thursday, Friday and Saturday were instead dedicated to the 25th edition of the GEF – the World Festival of Creativity in Schools – reserved for public and private schools and national and international associations, which performed in the fields of Music, Dance, Gymnastics, Fashion, Musical, Theatre, Cinema and Painting, in front of their respective juries.

Thursday, at the Ariston Theatre, was the turn of the Musical, Dance and Fashion finals, as well as the first part of the Music Final.

On Friday (morning and afternoon) at the Casino Theatre, theatrical performances and screenings of the Cinema “shorts” took place, while the second part of the Music final was held at the Ariston Theatre.

Saturday evening, as usual, the final show with the awarding of the prizes and the performances of the winners of Music, Musical, Dance and Fashion, as well as those of the guests: the winner of the 2023 edition of sanremoSenjor, the Brazilian Flavia Bittencourt; the Riviera dei Fiori Gymnastics Society, with a gymnastics and dance choreography created specifically for the 25 years of the GEF, in which 96 athletes participated; the Kazakh trio “Astana dausi”, very well known in his country.

The Global Education Award 2024 was awarded to Monsignor Umberto Toffani; the GEF Music Award 2024 went to Kazakh violinist Aiman ​​Mussakhajayeva; the GEF New Generation Award 2024 to the singer/actress Zoe Nochi, who also performed a song from the soundtrack of “The Phantom of the Opera”.

The evenings of Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and the theater and cinema performances on Friday were broadcast live on the YouTube channel of sanremoJunior and on the GEF YouTube channel, enjoying considerable success in terms of views worldwide.

The satisfaction of the patron of the two events, Cav., is clear. uff. Paolo Alberti: “I imagined a great success, given the work done and in the wake of that achieved last year, but I was positively surprised to have broken every record: both for sanremoJunior and for the GEF. The artistic level of both events was, once again, very high and this repays the great organizational commitment. Furthermore, the massive turnout of participants and companions – including teachers, parents, relatives and friends – brought an exceptional impact, in a period that was not yet high season, for the city of Sanremo and the provincial district. This occasion was also an important vehicle to bring the name of Sanremo to the world, as all the competitors will perform in their respective countries, appearing on any means of communication with the city of flowers as a backdrop. For this reason, once again, I thank the Municipality and Casino of Sanremo and the Liguria Region for their support.”

sanremoJunior and GEF were brilliantly hosted again this year by Maurilio Giordana and Iaeli Anselmo with a “new entry” for the sanremoJunior evening only: the young emerging actor Alessandro Cartenì, who did very well in the role of co-host . The scenography designed by Francesco Filosa was created by the staff of Santo Polimeni and expertly lit by the director of photography, Marco Lucarelli.

sanremoJunior is sponsored by the Municipality of Sanremo and UNESCO. The GEF was created with the contribution of the Municipality of Sanremo and the patronage of UNESCO, the International Institute of Humanitarian Law, CONI, the Liguria Region and the Province of Imperia.

The organization is from Kismet of Sanremo.

Here is the list of the first classified by Category and Section and the relative overall prizes, the “Silver Dolphins”.

Music

1st Place Cat. 1 Section B: Inst. Compr. MG Cutuli/Crotone winner “Silver Dolphin”
1st Place Cat. 1 Section C: Technical Inst. Ind. S. Cannizzaro/Catania
1st Place Cat. 1 Section D: MusicsART/Castelpetroso (Isernia)
1st Place Cat. 2 Section To: Inst. Compr. n° 3 of Patti/Patti (Messina)
1st Place Cat. 2 Section B: Inst. Compr. Lieutenant M. De Rosa/Sant’Anastasia (Naples)
1st Place Cat. 2 Section D: Clubul Copilor Valera Jiului/Petrosani (Romania)

The Jury’s Special Mentions went to:

Musicomania/Avezzano Musical Association (Aq)
High School of Music Stat. Snack from Capo d’Orlando & G. Verdi Musical Association of Mirto (Messina)
G. Farinelli Nursery School/Governolo of Roncoferraro (Mantua)
Compr. Inst. John XXIII/Isernia
FMV Ayazaga-Erenkoy-Ispartakule Secondary School/Istanbul (Türkiye)
Ozel Izmir Amerikan Koleji/Izmir (Türkiye)
Musical Association “Recitar Cantando” APS/Thiene (Vicenza)

Musical

Equal Institute “The colors of the rainbow”/Teverola (Caserta) winner “Silver Dolphin”

The Jury’s Special Mentions went to:

Compr. Inst. of Avegno-Camogli-Recco-Uscio/Recco (Genoa)
High School Stat. ML King/Favara (Agrigento)

Dance/Gymnastics

1st place Section A: Creation Danse/Grasse (France)
1st place Section C: Stage Door/Schio (Vicenza) winner “Silver Dolphin”
1st place Section D: Les petites etoiles/Monza (Monza-Brianza)
1st place Section G: ASD Insieme/Sanremo

The Jury’s Special Mentions went to:

Viridis Gymnastics Club/Sanremo
Gymnastics Riviera dei Fiori/Taggia
ASD Vittoria/Bordighera

Fashion

Ted Istanbul College Private High School/Istanbul
Higher Institute G. Marconi/Gligliano in Campania winner “Silver Dolphin”

Theater

1st place Section C: Liceo Galileo Galilei/Nardò (Le)
1st place Section D: Izmir Gelisim College/Izmir (Türkiye)
1st place Section E: Association Constellation/Nice (France) winner “Silver Dolphin”

The Jury’s Special Mentions went to:

Section B: Inst. Compr. of Avegno-Camogli-Recco-Uscio/Recco (Genoa)
Section D: Institute of the Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy/Sanremo

Cinema

1st place: Ist. Compr. of Avegno-Camogli-Recco-Uscio/Recco (Genoa)

Educ-Arte/“Prix Modigliani” – awarded this year for the 3rd time by the Jury chaired by the archivist of the Amedeo Modigliani Legal Archives of Paris, Christian Parisot – went to the 3rd A Class of the Italo Calvino Secondary School of Sanremo with the painting “Who I’m the one who decides.”