Rumors are intensifying: Is Mahmood, Italy’s Eurovision representative in 2019 and 2022, returning to host Sanremo Festival 2025? Get all the details here!
The Italian Eurovision precursor, Sanremo Festival 2025, is approaching rapidly, and the audience is eager for new details and possible surprises. After the announcement of the list of adult and young competitors and their songs, the public’s curiosity is now directed towards the reveal of the guest hosts. Traditionally, each night of the five-day festival features a guest host alongside the main host. The festival is held annually in February, culminating in the announcement of the winner who will represent Italy at Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland.
The artistic director and primary host of the festival, Carlo Conti, emphasized in an interview that we are still in “turbulent days” concerning this matter, but new information about the identity of the guest hosts is flooding Italian news sites. The respected Italian news outlet, Dagospia, reported that: “Mahmood was asked to be available for one evening, similar to what happened last year with Marco Mengoni. We will have to wait a few more days for official announcements.” Mahmood’s story is closely tied to the Sanremo Festival. The talented singer-songwriter has not only participated but won the most famous music event in Italy twice. Initially, in 2019, he performed solo with the song “Soldi,” securing second place, and the second time in a duo with the singer Blanco with the song “Brividi,” which finished in sixth place.
Additional names mentioned in the Italian media, said to be “just a signature away” from co-hosting the festival nights with Carlo Conti, include:
Annalisa – A seasoned participant in the festival, Annalisa has competed in Sanremo five times in the years 2013 (ninth place), 2015 (fourth place), 2016 (eleventh place), 2018 (third place), 2021 (seventh place), and in 2024 with the song “Sinceramente,” where she achieved third place and also won first place in the OGAE Second Chance competition for 2024.
Alessandro Cattelan – The host of Eurovision 2022, which took place in Turin, Italy. His name was mentioned as a guest host for the fifth and final night of the festival, where the grand winner of the Italian Eurovision precursor will be announced.
Serena Rossi – A very famous Italian actress who gained international recognition for voicing Elsa in the animated movie “Frozen.” Well-known in the Eurovision world, Rossi was Italy’s commentator for Eurovision 2018 and appeared in the Italian precursor that year. She also served as a guest host in Sanremo 2021 alongside the legendary host Amadeus.
Geppi Cucciari – A prominent comedian, TV presenter, and actress in Italy, known especially for her appearances in various Italian TV shows, including satire and comedy programs. Known for her unique sense of humor and ability to blend acting with humor, Cucciari’s name has also been mentioned as a potential artistic director for the Sanremo Festival.
Last month, the Italian national broadcaster, RAI, unveiled the list of participants who will partake in the Sanremo Festival 2025. Additionally, four new names were selected to compete for the chance to represent Italy at Eurovision, from the finale of “Sanremo Giovani,” the youth competition of Sanremo. The names of their songs will be revealed closer to the festival dates. During the broadcast, the hosts also revealed the songs of the contestants who have already been approved.
list of participants in the Sanremo Festival along with their songs
- Achille Lauro – “Incoscienti Giovanni”
- Gaia – “Chiamo io chiami tu”
- Coma_Cose – “Cuoricini”
- Francesco Gabbani – “Viva la vita”
- Williw Peyote – “Grazie ma no grazie”
- Noemi – “Se t’innamori muori”
- Rkomi – “Il ritmo delle cose”
- Moda – “Non ti dimentico”
- Rose Villain – “fuorilegge”
- Brunori Sas – “L’albero delle noci”
- Irama – “Lentamente”
- Clara – “Febbre”
- Massimo Ranieri – “Tra le mani un cuore”
- Emis Killa – “Demoni”
- Sarah Toscano – “Amarcord”
- Fedez – “Battito”
- Simone Cristicchi – “Quando sarai piccola”
- Joan Thiele – “Eco”
- The Kolores – “Tu con chi fai l’amore?”
- Bresh – “La Tana Del Granchio”
- Marcella Bella – “Pelle diamante”
- Tony Effe – “Damme ‘na mano”
- Elodie – “Dimenticarsi alle 7”
- Olly – “Balorda nostalgia”
- Francesca Michielin – “Fango in paradiso”
- Lucio Corsi – “Volevo essere un duro”
- Shablo feat. Gue’, Joshua, Tormento – “La mia parola”
- Serena Brancale – “Anema e Core”
- Rocco Hunt – “Mille vote ancora”
- Giorgia – “La cura per me”
- Vale LP and Lil Jolie – TBA
- Alex Wyse – TBA
- September – TBA
- Mary Tomb – TBA
Sanremo Festival 2025: Format and Schedule
The festival will span five nights, organized as follows:
Night 1 (Tuesday, February 11th, 2025): All 34 artists will perform their competing songs. A jury composed of professional journalists from television and internet media will vote on all songs. The Italian national broadcaster RAI will then announce the top five songs that received the most votes, in random order.
Night 2 (Wednesday, February 12th, 2025): 17 artists will perform their competing songs again. This time, the voting will be split between the public (50%) and a jury of radio broadcasters (50%). The top five will be announced in random order.
Night 3 (Thursday, February 13th, 2025): The remaining 17 artists will perform their competing songs. As in the second night, the songs will be voted on by the public (50%) and a jury of radio broadcasters (50%). The top five will be announced in random order.
Night 4 (Friday, February 14th, 2025): The competing artists will perform cover versions of existing songs in Italian, English, or any other language. The artists will have the opportunity to perform with a guest artist. The songs will be voted on by the public (34%), a professional jury of journalists (33%), and a professional jury of radio broadcasters (33%). The results from this night will not be added to the overall score.
Night 5 (Saturday, February 15th, 2025): All 34 artists will perform their competing songs again, with only the public voting. The combination of public votes from this evening and the scores from previous nights will determine which five artists advance to the superfinal. These top five songs will be performed again and will be chosen by the public (34%), the professional jury of journalists (33%), and the professional jury of radio broadcasters (33%). After this, the song with the most votes will be declared the festival winner.
Additionally, on the second and third evenings, four young artists will present their songs in the “Nuove Proposte” (Newcomers) category as part of the festival. One artist from each evening will advance to the final, while on the fourth night, a jury composed of the public (34%), journalists (33%), and radio broadcasters (33%) will determine the winner in the Newcomers category.
With significant changes and heightened anticipation, Sanremo 2025 promises to captivate audiences with its expanded lineup and thrilling performances, this year’s festival is set to keep fans on edge until the very end.
Italy in Eurovision 2024
“La noia” is the song performed by singer Angelina Mango in the grand final of Eurovision 2024. The song was selected at the Italian Sanremo Festival 2024. In the Eurovision final, the song placed 7th with 268 points. Italy has successfully ranked in the top 10 for eight consecutive years.
Eurovision 2025: This will be Italy’s 50th participation in Eurovision. Italy joined the contest in 1956, was one of the seven founding countries, and has won three times over the years. Italy’s most recent victory was at Eurovision 2021 with the song “Zitti e buoni” performed by the band Måneskin.
