The Italian national broadcaster RAI announced today that it will reveal the participants in the “Festival Di Sanremo 2026” on November 30th.
The Italian national broadcaster, RAI, announced that the list of contestants for the 76th edition of “Festival Di Sanremo” will be disclosed on November 30th during the “Tg1” television program airing at 13:30 CET. The contestants will be revealed by the artistic director and festival host, Carlo Conti. The festival will take place from February 24th to 28th, featuring 24 artists competing, with the winner earning the opportunity to represent Italy at Eurovision 2026. In case the winner declines to represent Italy, the broadcaster will select its representative from among the Sanremo competitors.
Although the official Sanremo Festival participant list has not yet been published, recent leaks suggest several former Italian representatives are likely to return. The most frequently mentioned names by industry sources include:
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Angelina Mango – Sanremo 2024 winner who represented Italy at Eurovision 2024 with the song “La noia” (in English: “The Boredom”), which finished 7th.
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Tiziano Ferro – One of the biggest names in Italian pop in recent decades. He has never competed in Sanremo before but is considered a figure who could bring Italy another Eurovision victory due to his international popularity.
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Tommaso Paradiso – Former lead of the band Thegiornalisti, known for hit pop songs in Italy. Though new to Eurovision stages, he is perceived as someone who could connect well with the wider European audience.
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Matteo Bocelli – Son of famous tenor Andrea Bocelli. Having performed on many international stages, he is viewed as a candidate who might draw significant interest at Eurovision due to family ties and his unique voice.
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California dei Coma_Cose – Half of the Italian duo Coma_Cose, who have competed multiple times at Sanremo. Reports suggest a solo career launch at the Ariston stage, a move that could open doors to Eurovision.
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Alfa – Italian singer and rapper best known for his participation in the 2024 festival.
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Marco Mengoni – Italy’s Eurovision representative in 2013 with “L’Essenziale” and in 2023 with “Due Vite“.
According to “La Repubblica” newspaper, song submissions have also come from Levante, a famous Italian singer and former X Factor Italy judge who participated in 2020 and 2023, Malika Ayane, an Italian singer-songwriter with five prior festival participations who finished third in 2015, and Arisa, a veteran festival participant.
Alfa and Tiziano Ferro quickly denied rumors about their festival participation on social media. Alfa posted on Instagram that he will not participate this year due to no song submissions linked to his tour. Meanwhile, Marco Mengoni hinted about a possible last-minute entry with the statement: “Never say never. I’m a last-minute contestant!” His return would be very interesting. Additionally, Carlo Conti apparently is eager to bring back Blanco — who, along with Alessandro Mahmood, represented Italy at Eurovision 2022 with the hit “Brividi” (in English: “Shivers”).
Dates and Format of Festival Di Sanremo 2026
Like every year, the festival will span five nights, structured as follows:
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First Night (Tuesday, February 24th, 2026):
24 artists will perform their competing songs. A jury composed of professional journalists from television and online media will vote. RAI will then announce, in random order, the top five entries receiving the highest scores. -
Second Night (Wednesday, February 25th, 2026):
12 artists will perform. Voting will be split between the public (50%) and a radio jury (50%). The top five will be announced randomly. -
Third Night (Thursday, February 26th, 2026):
The remaining 12 artists will perform. Voting will again be divided between the public (50%) and the radio jury (50%). The top five will be announced randomly. -
Fourth Night (Friday, February 27th, 2026):
Contestants will perform cover versions of existing songs in Italian, English, or other languages. They may collaborate with guest performers. Voting will be divided between the public (34%), a professional jury of journalists (33%), and a radio jury (33%). Results from this night will not count toward the overall competition. -
Fifth Night (Saturday, February 28th, 2026):
All 24 artists will perform again with their competing songs. The public vote will be added to the cumulative scores from previous nights to determine the five superfinalists. These five will then perform again, with the winner chosen based on votes from the public (34%), the journalists’ jury (33%) and the radio jury (33%). The performance with the highest score will be declared the winner of Sanremo 2026.
In addition to the main competition, the festival will feature the “Nuove Proposte” category for young artists. On the second and third nights, four emerging performers will showcase their songs. One artist from each night will advance to the final, where, on the fourth night, the winner will be chosen through a mixed vote of the public (34%), journalists (33%), and the radio jury (33%).
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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Ilay Gaist is a leading Israeli content creator and writer specializing in the Eurovision Song Contest. He is a well-known commentator with extensive expertise in the contest’s history, rules, and dynamics. His passion for Eurovision drives him to deliver rich, professional, and innovative content to his audience.
Ilay holds a bachelor’s degree in Arabic and has a multilingual background. He also engages in cultural research, with a particular focus on global culinary traditions and the evolution of local cuisines around the world.
