Leicester City will celebrate their first-ever title win by staging a special performance from Andrea Bocelli, the world-famous tenor, and presenting members of the club’s legendary Ice Kings team to the crowd when Everton visit the King Power Stadium on Saturday evening.
Claudio Ranieri, the club’s manager, confirmed yesterday that the world’s best-selling classical singer had contacted him “one or two months ago” to wish Leicester well in their Barclays Premier League title challenge and volunteer to make an appearance at one of the club’s games.
“He called me one or two months ago,” Ranieri said. “He was so happy about what we are doing. He said he would like to come and sing something. That is great – why not? I gave all of my information to the club and they made the arrangements.
“He will come to Leicester. He is not a friend of mine but I met him a long time ago, when I went to his concert at Wembley. He will not remember [that we have met], though maybe now [we have won the title] he will.”
Bocelli will not be the only special guest in attendance for the visit of Roberto Martínez’s side. The club have also invited a number of the Ice Kings team – the last Leicester side to challenge for the league title, in the 1962-63 season – to attend the game.
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At least six players – including Gordon Banks, Frank McLintock and Mike Stringfellow – will be invited on to the pitch at half-time to take the applause of the crowd. The Ice Kings, so-called because they went top during the worst winter in Britain for 200 years, were top of the First Division with five games to play but took only one of a possible ten points and could only finish fourth.
The visit of Everton will form the final act of a week of celebrations for Leicester since the first title in the club’s history was confirmed on Monday night.
The team were mobbed as they had a celebratory lunch at San Carlo in the city on Tuesday, while Ranieri’s press conference this afternoon featured 20 bottles of champagne for the assembled journalists.
The Italian had insisted he wanted to “have a drink with my sharks” to toast the first championship of his career.