Three of Italy's most popular singers - Claudio Baglioni, Gianni Morandi and Riccardo Cocciante - will join forces at Grand Harbour on August 25 for a free concert aimed at boosting awareness of the migration problem in the Mediterranean.
Mr Baglioni had already been confirmed for the concert and he will now share a stage with the other two superstars of Italian music.
A spokesman for Fondazione O'scia, an Italian NGO set up by Mr Baglioni to promote intercultural dialogue, said yesterday: "Preparations with our Maltese counterparts are well at hand. For the Malta concert Mr Baglioni has decided to rope in two other very popular Italian singers, who will give the Maltese public some of their best songs. The three artistes will also perform together. This should be one of the biggest concerts Malta has ever seen."
Mr Baglioni has for years been mulling the idea of exporting the O'scia concerts, started five years ago in the Italian island of Lampedusa. The Malta concert will become the first event outside that island.
Mr Baglioni is said to be looking forward to the event as it marks a new era in the O'scia dream. He views Malta as the ideal location to raise awareness on migration as the island is facing some difficult times due to this phenomenon.
The O'scia concert series was born five years ago in the remote Italian island, situated about 200 kilometres south of Sicily and closer to the Libyan shores than is Malta. It has now become an annual cultural highlight during the last weekend of September.
The organisers are trying to host a similar concert in Libya.
Mr Baglioni has made awareness of the migration problem in Europe one of his priorities. Apart from the O'scia initiative, he speaks openly about the need for the EU to show more solidarity with these desperate people.
He specifically referred to Malta during a press conference in the presence of many MEPs after a concert on the same theme held last September in the European Parliament in Brussels. He called on the EU not to leave Lampedusa and Malta alone in their fight against illegal immigration, saying the islands were already doing a great job in sheltering the needy but could not keep doing it forever.