Did we just watch the 75ᵗʰ and final Sanremo Festival? It’s possible…
Since 2015, Italian Eurovision broadcaster Rai has used the Festival di Sanremo as a means of choosing the Italian act for the Eurovision Song Contest. While the rules have varied slightly each year, generally speaking the winner of the Sanremo Festival has been given the first right of refusal to represent Italy at Eurovision. Only twice has the winner decided against Eurovision – in 2016, and again this year. Now Rai might be looking for another means of choosing a Eurovision act, that is separate from Sanremo altogether.
According to the Italian newspaper Il Tirreno, this new event to select Italy’s representative for the Eurovision Song Contest may take place in another city with some changes, including a different name. Festival della Canzone Italiana (Sanremo) may be replaced with Festival della Musica Italiana to avoid copyright issues.
Turin is a possible location since it successfully hosted Eurovision in 2022, earning EBU praise. However, no final decision has been made. The choice will depend on venue availability and the quality of an agreement with the local government.
Rai is looking at creating the new Festival in the event that negotiations break down with the City of Sanremo to produce future Festivals. The bidding process to organize Sanremo 2026 began immediately after the 2025 Festival ended last month, however based on early reports Rai is not pleased, due to a significant increase in the required financial contribution (the starting bid would be €6.5 million per year, compared to the current €5 million in the latest agreement) and because the City of Sanremo has added the inclusion of a binding requirement to produce four additional TV programs broadcast from the city.
Complicating matters is a ruling from December from the Ligurian Regional Administrative Court which declared the automatic assigning of the Festival’s organization to Rai (without a competitive bid) as unlawful. An appeal will happen on May 22ⁿᵈ.
Due to the extensive time needed to plan a music festival of the size of Sanremo, it is no wonder why Rai is looking at a “Plan B”. Rai prefers to keep the festival in Sanremo, as it remains Italy’s top TV event, earning over €65 million in ads.
What do you think if Sanremo no longer hosted Italy’s biggest music festival? Let us know in the comments below!
Last month, after Sanremo’s winner Olly declined the offer to represent Italy at Eurovision, runner-up Lucio Corsi accepted the offer and will fly to Basel with his entry Volevo essere un duro.
