The CEO of Italian broadcaster RAI Carlo Fuortes has confirmed to La Repubblica that Amadeus will return as host and compère of the Sanremo Festival in 2023 and 2024.

The 59-year-old TV host and DJ was quick to express his excitement at returning to the Ariston following a meeting this morning.

“I am happy and honored by the proposal of CEO Carlo Fuortes and Prime Time Director Stefano Coletta. Having received this proposal now allows me to work immediately. I can’t wait to get started!”

This will bring his total number of Sanremo Festivals hosted to five, which will place him in third on the all-time list behind the likes of Sanremo legends Guiseppe “Pippo” Baudo (13) and Mike Bongiorno (11).

Amadeus began hosting the show in 2020, alongside his sidekick, Italian comedian and TV personality Fiorello. Both took joint hosting duties in 2020 and 2021, and while Fiorello turned up for the first show in 2022, he sat the rest out citing health concerns.

His tenure as Sanremo host has been marked by a period of reinvigoration and new worldwide interest in the show, particularly among younger audiences, in light of its use as Italy’s de facto Eurovision selection process. It has included winners Diodato, Måneskin and Mahmood & Blanco, who have gone on to have success in global charts, as well as certain notable viral incidents, including the infamous spat between Bugo and Morgan on the fourth night in 2020.

The most recent edition of the festival took place a month ago, with 2019 winner Mahmood becoming the first multiple winner of the 21st Century, this time with 18-year-old up-and-coming trap artist Blanco, with their song Brividi, which has already found its way onto Spotify’s Global Top 50, and will represent Italy as the host entry of Eurovision 2022 in Turin.

Have you enjoyed Sanremo with Amadeus as host? Are you looking forward to the return of the marathon show next year? Let us know on social media and in the comments!