Thursday 27th July
At exactly 6 p.m. the gates of the festival opened and the many fans who were already waiting outside the gates entered. The Double Trouble Band accompanied the fans waiting in line, playing many soundtracks. As soon as they entered, the fans were amazed as they were able to admire the rich festival set-up: the various food trucks, bars, Girotti's Gelateria, the official Fan Shop, the Sky Lounge and the St. Kilian's whiskey tasting booth.
The Girotti Sky Lounge invites you to eat ice cream high above the city.
At the Dune Buggy Band sound check, the festival atmosphere is felt for the first time. At 8 p.m. fans are warmly welcomed by Gubbio City Mayor Cristiana Pedersoli and Jess Hill. Afterwards, voice actor Dennis Schmidt-Foss and Marcus Zölch enter the stage and give a short interview to presenters Andreas and Matteo. Dennis Schmidt-Foss, who is only present today due to other commitments, came especially for the first night at the Festival. The Dune Buggy Band then takes the stage for a small warm-up concert. The first evening flies by quickly. The festival grounds close at 1 a.m.
Marcus Zölch and Dennis Schmidt-Foss during the interview.
Friday, 28th July
The Festival Area opens at 10 a.m. Friday morning. In addition to the attractions and booths already open on Thursdayon the second day of the festival, the Open Air Cinema set up of the square gardens also opens.
At 12 noon both officially opens the festival and the program on the main stage begins. For the opening of the second day great guests take the stage together with Andreas and Matteo; Giuseppe, Cristiana and Alessandro Pedersoli, Jess Hill, stuntman Ottaviano Dell'Acqua and actress Gegia. This is followed by a screening of the film Io sto sto con gli ippopotami. The film screenings remain the heart of the event, and this year the films on the main stage caught the attention of the entire audience in attendance. It was great to watch our favorite films all together.
Today's star guests at the festival opening.
After the film, Ottaviano Dell'Acqua and Gegia take the stage again for brief interviews. Ottaviano, in particular, proves to be a very friendly, witty and extremely personable star guest. At 3:30 p.m. the Movie Parade dress rehearsal takes place before the start of the second film of the day.
The evening program starts promptly at 6 p.m. and with it the live streaming of the Festival. On the main stage, the Italian rock band Controtempo will kick off the evening with their hit "Like Bud Spencer and Terence Hill" and their own rendition of Top of the West, before solo artist Italo Vegliante gets fans laughing with his idiosyncratic interpretation of soundtracks.
At the festival for the first time: Controtempo.
At 7 p.m. the superguests take the stage again to answer the presenters' questions, tell some trivia about their life and professional experience with Bud and Terence, and wish the audience a good evening. The time comes for the Spencer Hill Magic Band, which has been thrilling fans at our festivals for 15 years now, to begin their concert at 7:30 pm. Our Hungarian friends will then perform an extra-long encore, after Maestro Franco Micalizzi's scheduled performance unfortunately cannot take place. After the Magic Band, solo artist Italo Vegliante performs again to end the evening. Fortunately, this does not dampen the good mood.
Always a guarantee for good vibes: The Spencer Hill Magic Band.
Saturday, 29th July
Saturday's day of the festival also starts at 10 a.m. and the queue in front of the entrance is again very long, In the Open Air Cinema the program of films and rarities from the Spencer/Hill universe begins immediately. On the main stage the program starts at 11 a.m. The guests all return to the stage again to share a few special moments with the audience. But it's time for Gegia to give Bud and Terence a gift. The funny actress a performs for our idols the song "How Much I Loved You" by Roberto Benigni. Matteo and Andreas then bring a lot of costumed fans on stage to honor their creativity and much effort.
Then comes the time for the only movie of the day "Whatch out, we are mad!". During the famous scene of the firemen's choir, thousands of fans all start singing along: this was perhaps the most exciting moment of the entire four-day festival.
It gets crowded on stage during the costume show. There have never been so many fans in costume. Great!
After the movie, fans are at it again: the Spencerhill Games begin. Fans compete in the fun competitions of Beer and Sausages, Popeye and Hammer Shot. This is followed on stage by the presentation of the video game "Slaps and Beans 2" by the programmers themselves and Alessandro Pedersoli. Then it's the city of Gubbio's turn: the Sbandieratori give very exciting moments with their performance and the Funkuantobasta Marching Band, a band of Gubbio boys, brings the audience back to the spencerhill world with their versions of the most famous soundtracks.
At 3:30 p.m. Italo Vegliante goes up again to entertain the audience before the big Movie Parade through Gubbio's historic center begins. It's a truly impressive sight: a festive parade of classic cars and an entire town in celebration of Bud Spencer and Terence Hill.
The big Movie Parade rolls through Gubbio - an impressive spectacle!
The evening program begins at 5 p.m. and again live streamed. Countertempo will open the evening with the song "Come Bud Spencer e Terence Hill", Matteo and Andreas will take the stage to award the winners of the various contests.
Then things get hectic--another star has arrived, the biggest of them all, and the program is altered accordingly. Annibale Giannarelli takes his place on the stage. Annibale is the performer of Top of the West, the main theme of They Called Trinity, and last year he returned to the scenes by winning the Italian edition of "The Voice senior."
Annibale sings for the cheering audience Top of the West
Annibale Giannarelli sings the Trinity theme song - a goosebump moment.
On the last notes of the song comes the big surprise; Terence Hill, the very one, enters the stage and thanks Annibale for his performance. Terence then addresses the audience in Italian and German, thanking the fans for their incredible support and the town of Gubbio for having hosted him with affection and care during the filming of Don Matteo. Terence then makes a big announcement that will bounce in the following days all over the Italian media; "I will make a new western." He then meets his colleague and friend Ottaviano Dell'Acqua and remembers his friend and colleague Bud Spencer, simulating having him next to him on stage in Gubbio by holding his arm over the big shoulders of his lifelong friend and colleague. He then stays on stage for the Big Picture before disappearing backstage..
With this gesture, Terence Hill remembers his sorely missed friend and colleague Bud Spencer.
After a long hiatus, the Spencer Hill Magic Band returns to the stage for a tribute to the La Bionda Brothers. In honor of Carmelo La Bionda, who passed away last year, the band plays the La Bionda Brothers' most famous soundtracks. Johnson Righeira, who launched big international hits with La Bionda in the 1980s, then takes the stage. He talks briefly about his great relationship with Carmelo and the importance of La Bionda to his career before turning Quarata Martiri Square into a huge disco with the mega-hits "No tengo dinero," £Innamoratissimo," "L'estate sta finendo," and "Vamos a la playa." Soon after, the Dune Buggy Band takes the stage and brings the atmosphere to a boiling point with their garande party show. The concert by our friends from Turin cancloses the evening.
The Dune Buggy Band once again ignites a real firework of atmosphere at the end of the day.
Sunday, 30th July
Also on Sunday, the site opens with all attrations at 10 am. At 11 am, the band "Stefano Dentone & The Sundance Family Band" will play some soundtracks and other songs before the film "Man of the East" is shown at 12 pm. Afterwards, Italo Vegliante gets to perform one last time before a short review of the festival is presented on the big screen. The Spencer/Hill Festival 2023 will end at 6 pm with a screening of "All the Way, Boys!".
A real highlight for the crew as well: A group picture with Terence Hill
The festival video
