PORTO CERVO, Italy, July 2026 – European luxury brands have spent several years looking for formats that place them in front of high-value audiences without the dilution that comes with mass sponsorship. The private cultural gala has emerged as one answer, and the Porto Cervo edition of Big Art Festival offers a clear reading of how that model now works.
On August 9, 2026, the festival returns for a second consecutive year to Romazzino, A Belmond Hotel, on the Costa Smeralda. Guests will gather around the hotel's pool for dinner before a live performance by Robbie Williams, the evening's headline act and the reason a private invitation carries the weight it does.
The event marks the festival's fifth anniversary. Founded by Maxim Berin, CEO of Berin Iglesias Art, it has built its audience among entrepreneurs, family offices and cultural leaders, a room that brand partners find difficult to reach through conventional channels.
For Chopard, the evening functions as an extension of a long-standing partnership rather than a one-off placement. The jewellery and watchmaking Maison will present a fashion show during dinner service, showing Haute Joaillerie creations alongside silhouettes from Caroline's Couture, with the emphasis placed on the work of its Artisans and on the shared vocabulary of craftsmanship the two houses trade in.
DENZA, the premium brand within the BYD Group, takes the automotive position. Its case rests on intelligent luxury mobility, where advanced engineering and interior design are presented as a single proposition, and Porto Cervo gives the marque a European audience that matches its intended buyer more closely than a motor show would.
The commercial logic of both partnerships depends on the draw at the centre of the evening. Williams has sold more than 85 million records across three decades and remains one of the most recognisable performers working today. A private gala places him within a few metres of the audience, and that proximity is the scarce commodity the format is built around.
The programme is sequenced with some care. Cocktails at sunset over the Mediterranean lead into a gala dinner, with each stage arranged to build toward the headline set rather than compete with it.
Live music carries the evening between those stages. Saxophonist Max Merseny establishes the early atmosphere, followed by the Esteriore Brothers, the Italian ensemble that pairs classic national repertoire with contemporary energy and a pronounced stage presence. DJ Katty Leen takes the gala into its late night hours beneath the Mediterranean sky.
Eleonora Incardona, among Italy's best known television and sports presenters, hosts the gala and guides guests through each stage of the programme, lending the evening a local register that the international guest list would otherwise lack.
"Robbie Williams in Porto Cervo is far more than a concert. We are creating a world-class immersive experience where every element, from the arrival and the dinner to fashion, music and gastronomy, becomes part of one emotional story. Today, the opportunity to experience an artist of Robbie Williams' calibre in such an intimate setting is exceptionally rare. Our ambition has always been to create moments that remain with our guests long after the evening ends," said Maxim Berin, CEO Berin Iglesias Art and Founder Big Art Festival.
As the festival closes five years of international growth, the Costa Smeralda edition sets out its position in a competitive field. Bringing together a globally recognised headline act, established European brand partners and a hospitality setting on one of the continent's most identifiable summer coastlines, Big Art Festival continues to build the case that experiential programming has become a serious channel for luxury houses rather than a decorative one.
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