On 18 June 2025, San Siro will not only be the setting of a great concert, but the scene of a cultural breakthrough. Elisa—born Elisa Toffoli—one of the most beloved singer-songwriters on the Italian scene, will bring to the Meazza stage the first sustainable live show in the stadium’s history, an event that promises to change the way we think about and experience live music. It will not just be a show: it will be an environmental and artistic testimony, a project that demonstrates how culture, entertainment and ecological responsibility can coexist, indeed reinforce each other. A concrete action in an age when, too often, words fail to take shape and get trapped in rhetoric.
Revolution starts from what is not seen
The heart of this revolution is invisible, but very powerful. For the first time, a concert at the San Siro Stadium will be powered by second-generation HVO biofuel, produced from agricultural waste and biomass. An alternative fuel that can reduce emissions by 70 per cent compared to traditional fossil fuels. “This is the first biofuel-fuelled show done at San Siro. Think what would happen if we all did this, and not for a single concert, but on tour,” explained Elisa with the determination of someone who has a clear vision and the courage to put it into practice. A historic milestone, which also sets a precedent: never in the long history of the Meazza had a musical event aimed so high on the environmental front.
A vision born over time
This commitment did not come out of nowhere. Elisa began working on these issues as early as 2022, with the “Back to the Future” tour, which saw her collaborate with the United Nations to promote the Sustainable Development Goals. It was a pioneering journey, described by herself as “exhausting and exploratory” and essential to understanding the resistance in the sector. It is undeniable, however, that it marked a point of no return that has led, today, to the realisation of a structured, shared and operational project.
Every detail counts
The entire event is designed according to integrated sustainability criteria. Starting with transportation, one of the most critical issues in live events. In collaboration with the City of Milan, the ATM service will be boosted until 2 a.m. to encourage the use of public transport. A necessary measure, considering that Italy is among the countries with the highest number of cars per inhabitant in Europe.
Inside the stadium, there will be 20 ecological islands manned by Amsa for recycling collection. The social cooperative VestiSolidale will oversee a clothing collection and reuse campaign, while the overall environmental impact will be scientifically measured by independent entities: Tetis, JustonEarth and the University of Genoa.
Everything—from the materials used to the suppliers chosen—has been subjected to a logic of short supply chain, social responsibility and reduced ecological footprint. This is because if you really want to create events marked by sustainability nothing can be left to chance.
Plantasia: when music breathes life back into the land
If environmental sustainability is the beating heart of the project, Plantasia is its poetic soul. We could almost define the San Siro concert as a bridge to the future of the territory. In fact, just a few kilometres from the stadium, exactly in Via Quarenghi, Elisa will support an urban regeneration project that will transform a former contaminated quarry into a 40,000-square-metre sound park, thanks to phyto-remediation techniques and collaboration with public agencies and private foundations. The name is inspired by Mort Garson’s environmentalist album Mother Earth’s Plantasia, composed to be heard by plants. And it is the plants that will do the work of soil remediation, while the area will host an immersive music trail, with speakers playing classical music. A visionary project, co-funded by public funds and crowdfunding, that transforms decay into rebirth.
Costs? An extra 30 per cent. But if everyone does it, it goes down to zero
Bringing sustainability to a stage like San Siro is not cheap: costs go up 30-35 per cent compared to traditional. But it is the kind of spending that builds the future. If this choice became the rule and not the exception, that margin would dissolve. It is known that there are still no 100 per cent sustainable concerts today, but something can be done. Now more than ever there is a sense of urgency to act by counteracting the fear that blocks action.
You don’t need to be perfect to start, you need to start. Abroad, the likes of Coldplay and Massive Attack have totally transformed their shows by bringing environmentalism to the centre of conception and message. In Italy it is Elisa’s time.
When music responds to climate emergency
In an era marked by backward steps on climate by institutions, Elisa’s action takes on a countercultural value. It is a form of cultural resistance in a time when those who govern are too often blocked by interests and diplomacy. A call to courage, to action.
The numbers are frightening and scepticism is growing by leaps and bounds. According to a YouTrend survey, two in five Italians (42 per cent) think that people around them are less motivated to take action against climate change than they were a few years ago. A similar percentage (43 per cent) think that companies have also decreased their green efforts, while one in two Italians (49 per cent) believe that it is mainly institutions that have reduced their commitments to environmental policies.
A seed that can change the view of things
Elisa’s concert has already been sold out for months. But what will remain, besides the music, is the testimony of another possible way. An artistic act that speaks to those who listen, but also to those who organise, finance, govern. An invitation to look to the future with responsibility and imagination.
“San Siro will be a great embrace,” she said, “but also a signal. Because today we can no longer separate beauty from attention to the world that hosts us.” Her San Siro will be a living, sonorous testimony that music can inspire, educate, act. A seed planted in a stadium, with the hope that it will sprout.
