by Guy Solo Comment Closed




A journey through time: 40 years after their legendary performance, Duran Duran returns to the Italian pre-Eurovision event, the Sanremo Festival 2025. Full details in the article!

Carlo Conti, host and artistic director of the Italian pre-Eurovision event, Sanremo Festival 2025, is going to great lengths to ensure this year’s festival is an unforgettable event. On Friday evening, January 31, during the broadcast on the Italian TV channel Tg1, Conti announced another addition to this special event. Duran Duran, a band that significantly influenced the pop culture starting from the 80s, will be the first international guest to perform at the event, returning to the Sanremo stage 40 years after their last performance there. The festival will take place as usual in February and will conclude with the announcement of the winner who will represent Italy at Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland.

The announcement of Duran Duran’s new performance was made through the band’s official Threas account:

 

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This announcement brings with it a wave of nostalgia and excitement, as Duran Duran dominated the charts worldwide and in Italy, with hundreds of thousands of followers. They first performed in Italy on February 9, 1985, at the Ariston, during the final evening of the festival hosted by Pippo Baudo. The uncontrollable reactions, collapses, and tears that led to hair being torn out were only comparable to the hysterical reactions that greeted the Beatles many years earlier. Simon Le Bon, John Taylor, Nick Rhodes, Roger Taylor, and Andy Taylor: these charming boys from Birmingham are set to recreate the magic of the past and promise an unforgettable closing performance. Watch Duran Duran’s first performance at the 1985 Sanremo Festival:




The Italian pre-Eurovision, Sanremo Festival 2025, will start on Tuesday, February 11, and end on Saturday, February 15. The list of senior and junior competitors has already been published, along with their song names, and the guest hosts along with special performers. Among them are some well-known names:

  • Damiano David – the lead singer of Måneskin, Eurovision 2021 winner, will participate as a guest artist on the second evening.
  • Mahmood – Italy’s representative at Eurovision 2019 with the song “Soldi” and in 2022 in a duet with singer Blanco and the song “Brividi,” will participate as a guest host on the fourth evening of the festival.
  • Alessandro Cattelan – host of Eurovision 2022 held in Turin, Italy. His name has been mentioned as a guest host for the fifth and final evening of the festival, where the big winner of the Italian pre-Eurovision will be announced.
  • Elettra Lamborghini – participated in the Italian pre-Eurovision in 2020 where she finished 21st out of 23. She will participate as a guest host on the third evening.
  • Cristiano Malgioglio – commentator for the Italian television for Eurovision 2021 and 2022. He will participate as a guest host on the second evening.
  • Geppi Cucciari – a well-known Italian comedian, television host, and actress. She is particularly known for her appearances in various Italian TV shows, including satire and humor programs, and is known for her unique sense of humor and ability to blend acting with humor in her roles. Her name has also come up as a future artistic director for the Sanremo Festival.




The Italian national broadcaster, RAI, revealed the list of participants who will take part in the Italian pre-Eurovision, Sanremo Festival 2025. Additionally, four new names have been selected to compete for the right to represent Italy at Eurovision, from the final of “Sanremo Giovani,” the youth competition of San-Remo. Their song names will be revealed later, ahead of the festival dates. Meanwhile, during the broadcast, the hosts revealed the songs of the competitors who have already been approved. We recently reported on the withdrawal of singer Emis Killa, due to criminal suspicions. The singer will not be replaced by another participant.

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”
  • 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.

Source: Treads

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.