Sunday 5 March Bologna returns to being one of the Italian capitals of the Marathon, with more than 6500 runners expected in the various scheduled distances, of which 4700 registered in the three competitive races: the Bologna Marathon, the 30 Km dei Portici and, after years of , the UnipolMove Run Tune Up, historic half town. The streets of the city of Bologna will be crossed by the joy of many runners from all over Italy and from 20 foreign countries.

On the same day, the Tecnocasa Bologna City Run is scheduled, an opportunity to celebrate even for those who are not particularly trained, tackling 5 km in company, without any competitive aspect, and the brand new Run 5000, a solidarity relay that will be run in pairs , the proceeds of which will be donated to the many non-profit organizations participating in the initiative.

Today the presentation press conference was attended by the councilor for Sport Roberta Li Calzi, the President of Bologna Marathon Teresa Lopilato and the communication and marketing manager Fabio Cavallari, the director of UnipolMove Run Tune Up Stefano Soverini, the representative of the Lucio Dalla Foundation Emanuela Sponza and, surprisingly, Gianni Morandi who recalled Lucio Dalla:

“Lucio Dalla would have turned 80 on Saturday 4 March and the marathon will take place in Bologna on Sunday 5 March. It will be wonderful to be there because we will all celebrate Lucio's birthday together, who is watching us from up there and maybe having a laugh".
“It will be a great celebration, to be experienced all together - comments Roberta Li Calzi. We played as a team, in synergy with the Municipality of Bologna, involving many other beautiful realities. [...] it will be a wonderful moment of sport, music and culture, in the heart of Bologna, and I am sure that the citizens will welcome it with a smile".

Through an important communication campaign, in synergy with the Municipality of Bologna, the entire city has been and will continue to be informed in a capillary way, but, at the same time, stimulated and invited to take to the streets to welcome the numerous athletes and make the celebration of this great running event even more unique. Here you can see all the mobility measures in force on March 5th.

Despite a Sunday full of organizational proposals throughout Italy, there are many famous riders who have chosen to test themselves on the Bolognese roads. First of all, Danilo Brambilla, spearhead of the national skyrunning team, makes his debut in the marathon. He will compete against the triathlete and ultra marathon runner David Colgan, second in the first edition of 2021. Again on the marathon we will see two specialists at work such as Loris Mandelli and Riccardo Vanetti, with a personal time of 2h32' established in Reggio Emilia in 2020 without forgetting Lorenzo Perlo , author of a valuable 2h26' in Berlin in 2018.

All-female challenge of high prestige in the 30 km of the Portici, where the former Italian marathon champion Federica Moroni, winner of the Bologna Marathon in 2021, and Benedetta Coliva, who at only 21 amazed everyone last December by winning the Cetilar Marathon of Pisa.

The 21 km, the first of the three races to have reached sold out, will instead host both a Trophy dedicated to university employees (administrative staff, PhD students, teachers and researchers), organized in collaboration with the association of Italian universities (Anciu) , and a national trophy dedicated to employees of the Unipol Group, the new name sponsor of the tender.

The Bologna Marathon will begin its series of departures from Via Indipendenza at 8:30 with the start of the half marathon while the longest race and the 30 km will start at 9:15, the start of the City Run and the Relay at 9:30 .

However, the Bologna Marathon Event will start well in advance, already on Friday at 10:00 when the exhibition village will open at the Paladozza in Piazza Manfredi Azzarita, which will host many appointments waiting for the race and where it will be possible to collect bibs and race packs both Friday and Saturday until 21:00.

The Bologna Marathon 2023 is, as anticipated, dedicated to Music and to the great Lucio Dalla, a Bologna artist famous all over the world.

In addition to the medals, which commemorate him with the iconic hat with glasses and which will go around the necks of the athletes of the competitive races upon arrival in Piazza Maggiore on Sunday 5 March, there are various initiatives that Bologna Sport Marathon has set up, in collaboration with the Lucio Dalla Foundation and with Bologna UNESCO City of Music.

At 18:00 on Saturday 4 March at the Paladozza, and at 10:30 on Sunday 5 March in Piazza Maggiore, everyone will be able to attend the affectionate musical tribute free of charge by the Sicilian band iBeatiPaoli, who came to Bologna specifically to celebrate Lucio's 80th birthday , who appreciated their talent and wanted them by their side for various collaborations.

The tribute to Dalla will continue on the competition routes where, on Sunday, the ten artists selected thanks to the "If I were an angel" initiative will perform, giving life to an affectionate musical tribute that will resonate throughout the city. (Info on the performers and their stations https://www.bolognamarathon.run/newspage-Artisti_2023)

Numerous applications were received and the interpretations of Lucio Dalla's pieces proposed for the performances were very beautiful, a sign of how alive the memory of the Bolognese artist who wrote unforgettable pages in the history of Italian music is still today.

Finally, in collaboration with Musica Insieme and Dance Plus, other entertainment events are planned for both athletes and the public. The races in via Indipendenza will be opened by the spectacular LOW KEY Street Dance Crew of the New Art Music Dance School, winners of Dance Plus Final 2022, while in the finish area it will be possible to attend the performances of the Beatboxer Alien Dee accompanied by the violinist Tommaso Caprioli, and in various stages along the route of the historic center it will be possible to listen to the solo notes of 8 musicians from the G.B. Martini, each with the instrument of him.

There is still the possibility of registering for the non-competitive 5 km, at a cost of 15 euros for adults and 5 euros for children aged 12 and over, free registration for the little ones.

The Bologna Marathon enjoys the patronage of the Municipality of Bologna, the support of Sport Valley Emilia Romagna and Bologna per lo Sport, as well as Fidal and Coni, Csi and Uisp. Many sponsors and associations involved in the project, all fundamental building blocks to bring Bologna back to its rightful place, at the center of Italian athletics.