Sanremo and RAI signed an agreement ensuring the festival remains in the city through 2028, keeping its Eurovision tradition alive
The Sanremo Festival, which serves as Italy’s selection process for the Eurovision Song Contest, will remain in the city of Sanremo for at least the next three years. After lengthy and unpredictable negotiations, the Italian national broadcaster RAI and the Municipality of Sanremo signed an agreement granting the municipality ownership of the festival’s trademark, while RAI will retain full production rights and the authority to select Italy’s Eurovision representative.
Festival Dates and Rumors
The upcoming edition of the Sanremo Festival will take place from February 24th to February 28th, 2026, immediately following the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina and just before the start of the Paralympic Games. This represents a departure from the traditional dates due to scheduling conflicts and the density of large-scale events in the city. Carlo Conti will return to his role as artistic director.
During the months of negotiations, rumors circulated about other cities expressing interest in hosting the Sanremo Festival. Some reports even speculated on the creation of a competing music institution in case the talks collapsed. Ultimately, the public tender issued by the municipality received only one bid – from RAI, which continues to lead the festival and preserve its historical connection with Eurovision.
A Longstanding Tradition
Under the new agreement, RAI will invest €6.5 million annually into the festival and transfer 1% of the festival’s advertising revenue to the municipality. The main sticking point that nearly ended the talks was the question of ownership of the format and brand. The compromise established that the municipality will hold the rights to the symbol “Italian Song Festival”, while RAI will remain the broadcaster and the actual producer.
The Sanremo Festival is considered one of Italy’s most prestigious music events and has been a cultural tradition since 1951. Thanks to this new agreement, the festival will continue to be held at its original venue, the Ariston Theatre, regarded as both a cultural landmark and a cornerstone of Italian music history.
Italy at Eurovision 2025
“Volevo essere un duro” (in English: “I Wanted to Be Tough”) is the song performed by singer Lucio Corsi, which came second at the 75th edition of the Sanremo Festival. The song was written by the singer himself along with Tommaso Ottomano. This was the singer’s first-ever appearance at the festival. The song is performed in Italian. The song finished fifth in the grand final with 256 points.
Italy returns to the Eurovision Grand Final Top 5 after last year achieving “only” seventh place.
Eurovision 2026: This will be Italy’s 51st 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.
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Maor Heumann has been writing about the Eurovision Song Contest and following it for over three decades. He has attended five contests and has found something to appreciate in almost every possible musical genre — from the sugary pop entries that finish last in the semi-finals to the quirky avant-garde pieces that even the competition’s juries struggled to connect with. He usually prefers original languages and songs with depth over Swedish-produced English clones — though he doesn’t promise to stick to that rule.
He grew up on the kibbutz of Sara’le Sharon, who instilled in him a love for music and created his first connection to the contest back in 1993 — before most of the current editorial team was even born.
