For one day, Piazza del Popolo was the stage for the mascots and cartoons most loved by children: great success on Tuesday 11 May for the event organized by the Italian Permanent Parks Association adhering to Confindustria, in favor of the reopening of theme and water parks before 1 July. The event was attended by all the protagonists of the sector, from all over Italy: the parks of the Costa Edutainment group, Leolandia, MagicLand, Mirabilandia, Zoomarine, Gardaland and many others. With the motto ‘Free your smile’ over two hundred workers and artists staged a flash-mob based on music, colored balloons and entertainment. Giuseppe Ira, president of the Italian Permanent Parks Association and of Leolandia (Bergamo), said: “Our mission is to bring fun and good humor into the lives of children and families and we know how to do it in absolute safety: we already demonstrated this last summer. . We expect from the government a significant intervention with the anticipation of the openings and, if it is not able to support us with non-repayable loans, with the granting of long-term loans at a subsidized rate, as is also the case in other countries “.” They are in the balance – he recalled – 100,000 workers, between permanent and seasonal employees, direct and related. The seasonal workers, moreover, have been without subsidies since April 30. The government must also take care of us “. Last year, 20% of parks completely gave up on opening, 5 Italian companies passed under the control of foreign investment funds and 10,000 seasonal jobs were lost. Today the operators of the sector, about 230 in total, record an average loss of between 70 and 80% of turnover. Up to 2019 they generated a turnover of over 400 million euros, a share that rose to 2 billion euros by adding the related industries consisting of hotels, restaurants, merchandising, maintenance and other ancillary services. “We ask not to be discriminated against. We are the last to leave despite having such strict protocols that last year they guaranteed that in no Italian park there was no contagion, neither among operators nor among guests”, said Riccardo Marcante, director general of Mirabilandia, commenting on the situation of Italian amusement parks during today’s event. “In the face of all this – he pointed out – there are sectors that restart much earlier than us, I am talking about indoor restaurants, cinemas and theaters, gyms and fairs, and we are the last to start again as if we were the worst. Our safety protocols are those validated worldwide by Iapa, the international federation of amusement parks, and provide for the use of a mask, the sanitation of all areas, the maintenance of a safety distance and above all a quota. of admissions which made us reduce the maximum turnout in our park by about fifty percent “.