San Marino has opened the submission window for its preselection’s open track. Could you, too, submit a song to Eurovision through San Marino?
The San Marino national broadcaster, SMRTV, announced that preparations for the Eurovision preselection “San Marino Song Contest” are well underway. The final of the preselection will take place on March 7, with semifinals scheduled for March 3-4. One of the ways to submit songs to the preselection is via the “Dreaming San Marino Song Contest” – an open track for the general public. The submission window for this track opened yesterday (Friday).
Submit Songs from Anywhere in the World
“Media Evolution” company opened the registration window for the “Dreaming San Marino Song Contest,” which will select ten artists to advance to the grand final of the Eurovision preselection (out of a total of 20 finalists). Creators and artists wishing to submit a song can register until January 20, 2026, through the registration link on the official website.
Next, artists will receive an invitation to an audition day. Physical attendance is required only for artists from San Marino, Italy, France, Switzerland, Slovenia, and Austria. Artists from other countries may also attend but have the option to request an online audition. The audition fee is 150 euros. Each participant must submit two original songs.
Open auditions are scheduled for November 20, 21, and December 17, 18, 19, and 20.
How Will New Artists Be Selected?
From the auditions, 230 artists will advance to the “Stage & Live Academy” round. In this stage, thirty artists will compete in each round (eight rounds in total), with a participation fee of 150 euros. However, the fee is reduced to 50 euros for participants from San Marino itself. Competitors will perform one song each in this phase, after which a judging panel will select five artists to compete in the semifinals of the “San Marino Song Contest.”
The semifinals will take place on March 3 and 4, 2026, with 20 artists competing in each. Five contestants from each semifinal will advance to the grand final on March 7. Additionally, ten well-known artists invited in advance will join the final, making a total of 20 finalists. The winner will be selected by a panel of five judges and will represent San Marino at Eurovision 2026.
San Marino Revives Its Successful Format
Following the great success of last year’s new format for the “San Marino Song Contest”, the structure will be retained for 2026. The competition will again consist of two semi-finals and a grand final. San Marino, notably, reached the Eurovision Grand Final for the first time since 2021. The “San Marino Song Contest” will be led by Roberto Sergio, the broadcaster’s CEO. The highlight of the selection process, the Grand Final, will be held on March 7th, 2026, at Teatro Nuovo in the city of Dogana. At the end of that evening, San Marino’s representative and song for Eurovision 2026 in Vienna, Austria, will be announced.
Twenty artists will compete in each semi-final, all selected through the “Dreaming San Marino Song Contest” — a qualification process managed by Media Evolution. From these semi-finals, the best acts will advance to the Grand Final, which will feature ten emerging performers and ten experienced artists.
The artistic director Massimo Bonelli will return to his role, while Cristiano D’Alisera will direct the show. Marco Lucarelli will oversee photography, and Marco Calzavara will design the stage set. The event is produced in collaboration with Media Evolution srl and supported by the Secretariat of State for Tourism.
Has San Marino Found the Winning Formula?
The revamped format of San Marino’s national selection underwent major improvements. Previously, the contest ran over five pre-recorded nights with jury-only voting. The new edition condensed the event into three live prime-time nights: two semi-finals and one grand final, all broadcast live. For the first time, viewers were also given a voice in deciding the results, choosing their favorite artists. This innovation transformed the contest into a spectacular television event that attracted major media attention across Europe and led to immediate success — San Marino qualified to the Eurovision 2025 Grand Final for the first time in four years. Could this successful shift mark a new era for San Marino at Eurovision? Time will tell.
“San Marino Song Contest” Dates
- Semi-final 1 – Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026.
- Semi-final 2 – Wednesday, March 4th, 2026.
- Grand Final – Saturday, March 7th, 2026.
San Marino at Eurovision 2025
“Tutta L’Italia” (in English: “All of Italy”) is the song that Gabry Ponte has performed to represent San Marino at Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland. He finished 10th in the semi-final and qualified with 46 points, for the fourth time ever for San Marino. In the final, Ponte came 26th and last with 27 points only.
Eurovision 2026: This will be San Marino’s 16th participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. San Marino joined the competition in 2008 and achieved its best result in Eurovision 2019 when the singer Serhat finished in 19th place with the song “Say Na Na Na”.
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Tal Dahan – Journalist, radio broadcaster, and Eurovision content creator.
Tal Dahan is an Israeli journalist and editor specializing in the Eurovision Song Contest, working with the EuroMix editorial team for four years. Since 2022, she has provided regular on-site coverage of Eurovision from the host city, and from 2023 has also reported directly from the press room—offering the Israeli audience live updates, exclusive interviews, and in-depth commentary.
Tal is a member of the Eurovision tribute and parody band “EuroFalsh,” a radio broadcaster, and a student of political science and communications.
She is considered one of Israel’s leading young Eurovision experts. In addition to covering the main contest, Tal has reported from Eurovision pre-parties and national selection events across Europe (in Thessaloniki, Stockholm, Madrid, and more), been interviewed by major media outlets in Israel and internationally, and presented Eurovision-themed podcasts and radio shows.
