After the Winter Olympics, Italy’s Sanremo Music Festival takes centre stage from 24-28 February.
The Sanremo Music Festival, known officially as the Festival della canzone italiana, is far more than a simple singing competition.
For the last seven decades, Sanremo has served as the heartbeat of Italian popular culture, a televised ritual that unites – and sometimes divides – the nation.
Held at the seaside town of Sanremo on the northwest Ligurian coast, the event is the world’s longest-running annual televised music competition at a national level and served as the inspiration for the Eurovision Song Contest.
In an important recognition of Italian pop music as a part of the nation’s cultural heritage, Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella recently received the Sanremo presenters and contestants, for the first time in the history of the festival.
Legacy of melodies
The festival, founded in 1951, was originally conceived as a way to revitalise the economy and tourism in Sanremo during the winter months however it quickly transformed into a national phenomenon.
Broadcast live from the Teatro Ariston since 1977, the competition has launched the careers of stars including Andrea Bocelli, Laura Pausini, Eros Ramazzotti and, more recently, Rome rock band Måneskin.
In 1958, the song Nel blu, dipinto di blu, popularly known as “Volare“, was performed at Sanremo by Italian singer-songwriter Domenico Modugno before it took the world by storm.
The festival’s unique format – extending over five consecutive nights of primetime television – remains a staple on the Italian popular culture calendar.
Every February, millions of viewers tune in to enjoy the music and spectacle, debating everything from the quality of the lyrics to the fashion on the red carpet.
Other millions of Italians profess to never watch it and spend the week lamenting the hype surrounding the showbiz extravaganza.
Sanremo 2026
This year’s festival, in its 76th edition, has been scheduled for the final week of February: from Tuesday 24 February to Saturday 28 February.
Italy’s national broadcaster RAI rescheduled the event to later than usual to avoid a media clash with the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics.
Carlo Conti
Following the five-year tenure of Amadeus (2020–2024), Sanremo 2026 sees the return of a familiar face: Carlo Conti. Taking on the dual role of host and artistic director for both the 2025 and 2026 editions, Conti brings a more classic, polished atmosphere to the Ariston stage.
Known for his previous three-year run from 2015 to 2017, Conti’s direction in 2026 emphasises a “balanced mix” of Italian music legends and rising indie stars.
For this edition, he is joined by singer Laura Pausini as a permanent co-host across all five nights, alongside a rotating cast of special guests including Turkish actor Can Yaman, supermodel Irina Shayk, and tenor Andrea Bocelli – who won the Sanremo ‘newcomers’ category in 1994.
2026 lineup and format
The 2026 competition features 30 “Big” artists competing for the coveted trophy. The lineup features veterans such as Patty Pravo (marking her 11th appearance) alongside popular names like Tommaso Paradiso, Fedez (performing with Marco Masini), and Ermal Meta.
Each act performs a new, original song, which has never been released, with the winner selected by a jury and an online public vote.
The festival maintains its traditional structure: the artists, divided into two groups, perform their songs over the first two nights of the festival.
The singers then return to the stage to perform again on the third night, while the fourth night will see the acts perform covers of Italian or international songs, with contestants paired for duets.
On the last night the singers will perform their songs again before the winner is announced, following a process involving public televoting, press juries and radio juries.
This year will be the first Sanremo without Peppe Vessicchio, the celebrated Italian conductor, composer and TV personality, who died in November, and who conducted in nearly every edition of the festival since 1990.
Path to Eurovision
As always, the stakes extend beyond the Italian border. The winner of Sanremo 2026 earns the first right of refusal to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, being held in Vienna in May.
Contestants usually accept happily however last year’s winner, Olly, turned down the offer and it passed to the runner-up, Lucio Corsi.
Italy remains a ‘Big Five’ powerhouse, with the Sanremo stage serving as the ultimate laboratory for the song that will represent Italian culture in Eurovision.
Where to watch Sanremo 2026
The festival will be screened by RAI 1 every evening, starting from 20.35, and in streaming on Rai Play, as well as on Rai Radio 2.
The festival can be followed on its official website as well as its social media channels.
Photo credit: Andrea Izzotti / Shutterstock.com.
