Russell Crowe to perform concert at Colosseum

Russell Crowe will perform with his band The Gentlemen Barbers at the Temple of Venus and Roma, in the Roman Forum opposite the Colosseum, on the evening of Sunday 23 June.

Those who don’t have tickets for the Indoor Garden Party concert can watch the event for free on a large screen set up in front of the venue, on Via dei Verbiti, as indicated in a video by Crowe:

The concert by the Hollywood actor and musician is part of the Venere in Musica series of free concerts staged by the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo at the ancient venue.

Crowe is undertaking a tour of Italy this summer, with dates in Ascoli Piceno, Bari, Bologna, Cosenza, Piacenza, Pompeii, Siena and Varese.

Crowe will also perform two other shows in Rome, at the Forum Theatre in Piazza Euclide on 26 and 27 June, which he promises will be “a fully immersive two set experience in a very cool underground space.”

The Oscar-winning actor and director, famed for starring in blockbuster movies such as Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind, has led a parallel career in music for decades, with a repertoire ranging from rock to folk and country.

The Colosseum inaugurated a new elevator this evening, in the presence of Italy’s culture minister, with a special message from Gladiator star @russellcrowe pic.twitter.com/58RScX3zRW— Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) May 30, 2023
Russell Crowe and Rome

In 2022 Crowe was honoured as Rome’s ambassador in the world in recognition of the special bond that ties the Gladiator actor to the Eternal City.

The 60-year-old star, who was born in New Zealand but has spent much of his life in Australia, recently discovered that he has Italian heritage.

Why Russell Crowe is a gift to Rome tourism
After an extensive search, he traced his roots to Ascoli Piceno in Italy’s central Marche region.

“Turns out my great great great grandfather, on my mother’s side, who travelled to NZ in 1864 was Luigi Ghezzi”, Crowe wrote on X last December.

Believed to have been the largest temple in ancient Rome, the Tempio di Venere e Roma was dedicated to the goddesses Venus Felix (Venus the Bringer of Good Fortune) and Roma Aeterna (Eternal Rome).

Construction of the temple began in 121 under Emperor Hadrian and it was completed in 141.