I arrived in Rome late in the afternoon of Friday 9th May. I was not sure what to do. I had no ticket for the charity concert inside the Colosseum and I was wondering if it would be a good thing to wait outside it, trying to listen to music.

On Saturday, I met some friends and we decided to wait there, just near the Colosseum. Outside there, a big staff of technicians was mounting the stage for the free concert. They arranged some big video screens and also amplifiers all along Fori Imperiali, which is a very long road starting from the Colosseum. From there, the view is really amazing, with ancient ruins from the Roman Empire all along the road. I thought it was just a perfect site for the concert, so fascinating!

Paul was expected to arrive in Rome at about 5 P.M., but it wasn't to be. A friend of mine went to Rome airport and called us at 6:40 P.M., saying Paul and Heather had just landed. We found a space just behind the barriers (all of the Colosseum was, of course, surrounded by high barriers) from where we could get a perfect view of the backstage. There was not going to be a pre-show inside the Colosseum, but a lot of boys and girls were there just to support the band. A few minutes later, the band arrived in a minibus. We stayed there waiting and knowing that the airport is quite far from the city centre. Paul arrived at Colosseum at about 7 P.M., just in time for the soundcheck. We saw his car arriving from the street. We shouted, "We love you, Paul" and we saw him waving at us in the car. He was accompanyed by Heather and Linda's sister, who lives here in Italy with her husband. When he went behind the car he stopped again under us, waving and saying hello. We shouted and sang while he was there and it was just great! I remember there were some German tourists who didn't know about the concert and were excited to see Paul just a few meters from them.

The saddest moment was in the evening, with all people entering the Colosseum for the charity concert. I stayed with some frends of mine outside the arena, hoping to listen to the music. It was a hard to hear the music because the concert was totally acoustic and there were only a few amplifiers inside. Being outside, I think the most meaningful moment was when Paul started playing "All Things Must Pass." There were a boy, leaning against the barriers, who was crying silently and two girls who started dancing slowly. It was very moving scene. The atmosphere was already there, we could touch it.

When people came out, we asked about all possible details of the concert. My friend Simone, director of the International fan club "paulmccartney.fm," had prepared a T-shirt for Paul. It was signed by all fans all over the world, a lovely gift for our hero. He told me he passed the T-shirt to Paul while he was singing "Hey Jude" and Paul waved it while singing the song. Great!

Tracklist of the concert:

• Paul on acoustic guitar: I've Just Seen A Face, Midnight Special, Things We Said Today, Honey Don't, All Things Must Pass (with Rusty on slide guitar)
• · Paul on magic piano: Your Loving Flame
• · Paul on Hofner bass: All My Loving
• · Solo acoustic set: Blackbird, Every Night, We Can Work It Out, You Never Give Me Your Money/Carry That Weight, The Fool On The Hill, Here Today, Something (with the reprise)
• · Again with band: Eleanor Rigby (with the usual breakdown; it seems he does this often at recent shows), Calico Skies, Here There And Everywhere, Michelle, Two Of Us, Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (complete song with lyrics middle eight in Italian and the rest in English)
• · Paul on bass: Can't Buy Me Love
• · Paul on magic piano: My Love, Let It Be, Hey Jude
• Encore:
• · Paul on acoustic guitar: Yesterday
• · Paul on magic piano: Lady Madonna
• · Paul on bass: I Saw Her Standing There.

The day of the free concert started very slowly. I woke up at about 8 A.M. and immediately went to the Colosseum zone. The whole area was surrounded by barriers and it was not easy to meet my friend. We ate something together, but our minds were already there, waiting for Paul. At 1 P.M. we heard some music coming from the stage. The band was doing the soundcheck and….what magic…Paul was there! It was a hot day, but he sang for about one hour in front of an expanding number of fans. I was lucky enough to see a young woman who was viewing the soundcheck from a balcony over the stage. I looked up at her and asked if I could go upstairs. She said "Yes, why not?" and in about 30 seconds I also was on the balcony, looking at Paul playing and singing with the band. I don't remember all the song he played, but for sure there were Coming Up, Honey Don't, Michelle, Midnight Special, Let It Be, C Moon, Matchbox, Here There And Everywhere, O'Sole Mio (It's Now or Never), Out of the Blue (by George Harrison), and Celebration (from "Standing Stone"). It was quite clear that he was not only checking instruments, but also enjoying himself with fans…a very intimate moment J.

Then it was all waiting until the night. I was lucky enough to have the possibility to see the concert from the VIP Terrace, which was situated just above the stage. It was an emotional view from there. At least 500,000 people were there and it was not possible to see the end of the fans. It was like a sea, fantastic! I saw the band going on stage after the pre-show, and they seemed to be a little afraid. Paul said "Ciao Roma, benvenuti al Colosseo" (Hi Rome, welcome to the Colosseum) and the monitors showed he was confused trying to see the end of the crowd. It was impossible! He joked several times about this, saying "How are you three miles away?" and things like that.

Describing the show is not easy. Paul and the band rocked the Roman night for about three hours and the feeling was very high. People of different ages were bopping and singing, a big party in the open air. There were a few touching moments, of course. When Paul started singing "Let It Be," all the people lighted their lighters and…it was magic, 500,000 lights in the night. I think that also Paul was affected by having such a big audience and he stayed on stage for more than 3 hours, which is unusual. When he started to sing "Volare" in Italian, all the people started to shout and sing, a huge rumbling covered the music for a few seconds. It was fantastic!

Tracklist of the free concert:

Hello Goodbye, Jet, All My Loving, Getting Better, Let Me Roll It/Foxy Lady, Lonely Road, Your Loving Flame, Blackbird, Every Night, We Can Work It Out, You Never Give Me Your Money/Carry That Weight, The Fool On the Hill, Here Today, Something (without the reprise), Yellow Submarine (a capella), Eleanor Rigby, Here There and Everywhere, I've Just Seen A Face, Calico Skies, Two of Us, Michelle, Band On The Run (with new BBC beginning), Back In The USSR, Maybe I'm Amazed, Let 'Em In, My Love, She's Leaving Home, Can't Buy Me Love, Birthday, Live and Let Die, Let It Be, Hey Jude.

Encore:

The Long And Winding Road, Lady Madonna, Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (also incorrectly known as "Volare" - complete song with reprise, partly sung in Italian, the middle eight, partly in English), I Saw Her Standing There, Second Encore: Yesterday, Sgt. Pepper's/The End

(5/16/03) From Robbie_David:

Found my way from San Diego CA. to Rome, Italy just in time to be apart of the Best concert ever. It was like a scene from Woodstock in the 60's...a half a million strong.

On May 10th I knew Paul would be playing inside the Colosseum and I thought I would perhaps be able to hear him from outside. So...I showed up at around 6:00p.m. and saw around 50 people camping out in front of Colosseum (mostly guys from England who had come for the free concert the next day). I joined them and around 10:00 the concert hadn't started yet but we saw a figure who was dressed in a red coat looking and waving from the colosseum doors/arches. It was Paul waving to us. The concert began but we couldn't hear much. So I asked a few people if they would save me a place for tomorrows concert (and I would bring them a case of beer in return), no problem. They continued to stay through the night.

The day of the FREE concert I arrived at 2:00p.m. but the security wouldn't let me near the front where my new mates where. So I found a place about 1/4 way back. I settled in for a long, hot wait, made lots of new Italian friends and shared the beer.

The crowd was great, no incidents of drugs, fights, etc. We all waited and than at 10:00p.m. the worlds best concert venue began, Paul in front of the Roman Colosseum. The Colosseum was lit up and the light show began. The audience was slow to warm up (not knowing his newer songs) plus I'm sure many just went for the FREE concert. As soon as Paul did the old stuff the crowd rocked. The highlight was when he did Volare (as a tribute to the Italians). Paul had won everyone over and did a concert well over 3 hours. It was incredible and the Colosseum was beautiful. There was only one booth set up to sell things and nothing with Roma on them. Only one or two local vendors with Roma tee shirts for sale, a little raw but meaningful.Thank you Sir Paul, you showed your generosity just when I thought your concerts were becoming all about the money.

The beautiful Colosseum, the lovely people of Italy and the endless energy of Paul.