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The Sanremo Music Festival (Italian: Festival di Sanremo), officially the Italian Song Festival (Italian: Festival della canzone italiana), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria, organized and broadcast by Italian public broadcaster RAI. It is the longest-running annual TV music competition in the world on a national level (making it one of the world's longest-running television programmes) and it is also the basis and inspiration for the annual Eurovision Song Contest.

Unlike other awards in Italy, the Sanremo Music Festival is a competition for new songs, not an award to previous successes (like the Premio regia televisiva for television, the Premio Ubu for stage performances, and the Premio David di Donatello for motion pictures).

The first edition of the Sanremo Music Festival, held between 29 and 31 January 1951, was broadcast by RAI's radio station Rete Rossa, and its only three participants were Nilla Pizzi, Achille Togliani, and Duo Fasano. Starting from 1955, all editions of the festival have been broadcast live by the Italian TV station Rai 1.

From 1951 to 1976, the festival took place in the Sanremo Casino, but starting from 1977, all the following editions were held in the Teatro Ariston, except in 1990, which was held at the Nuovo Mercato dei Fiori.

The songs selected in the competition are in Italian or in any regional language, and the three most voted songs are awarded. Other special awards are also given, including the Critics' Award, created ad hoc by the press in 1982 to reward the quality of Mia Martini's song, and named after the singer in 1996, after her death.

The Sanremo Music Festival has often been used as a method for choosing the Italian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. It has launched the careers of some of Italy's most successful musical acts, including Toto Cutugno, Gigliola Cinquetti, Laura Pausini, Eros Ramazzotti, Andrea Bocelli, Giorgia, Il Volo, and Måneskin.

Between 1953 and 1971 (except in 1956), in 1990, and 1991, each song was sung twice by two different artists, each one using an individual orchestral arrangement, to illustrate the meaning of the festival as a composers' competition, not a singers' competition. During this era of the festival, it was custom that one version of the song was performed by a native Italian artist while the other version was performed by an international guest artist. This became a way for many international artists to debut their songs on the Italian market, including Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Cher, Gloria Gaynor, Dionne Warwick, Jose Feliciano, Roberto Carlos, Paul Anka, Miriam Makeba, Bonnie Tyler, Shirley Bassey, Mungo Jerry, Kiss, Laura Branigan, Alla Pugacheva, and many others.

Editions[]

Year Date(s) Venue Main presenter(s) Co-host(s)
1951 January 29-31 Sanremo Casino, Sanremo, Italy Nunzio Filogamo N/A
1952 January 28-30
1953 January 29-31
1954 January 28-30
1955 January 27-29 Armando Pizzo Maria Teresa Ruta
1956 March 8-10 Fausto Tommei
1957 February 7-9 Nunzio Filogamo Marisa Allasio, Fiorella Mari, and Nicoletta Orsomando
1958 February 1 Gianni Agus Fulvia Colombo
1959 January 29-31 Enzo Tortora Adriana Serra
1960 January 28-30 Paolo Ferrari and Enza Sampò N/A
1961 January 26-February 6 Lilli Lembo and Giuliana Calandra
1962 February 8-February 18 Renato Tagliani Laura Efrikian and Vicky Ludovisi
1963 February 7-9 Mike Bongiorno Rossana Armani, Edy Campagnoli, Giuliana Copreni, and Maria Giovannini
1964 January 30-February 1 Giuliana Lojodice
1965 January 28-30 Grazia Maria Spina
1966 January 27-29 Paola Penni and Carla Maria Puccini
1967 January 26-28 Renata Mauro
1968 February 1-3 Pippo Baudo Luisa Rivelli
1969 January 30-February 1 Nuccio Costa Gabriella Farinon
1970 February 26-28 Enrico Maria Salerno and Princess Ira von Fürstenberg
1971 February 25-27 Carlo Giuffré and Elsa Martinelli N/A
1972 February 24-26 Mike Bongiorno Sylva Koscina and Paolo Villaggio
1973 March 8-10 Gabriella Farinon
1974 March 7-9 Corrado
1975 February 27-March 1 Mike Bongiorno Sabina Ciuffini
1976 February 19-21 Giancarlo Guardabassi N/A
1977 March 3-5 Teatro Ariston, Sanremo, Italy Mike Bongiorno Maria Giovanna Elmi
1978 January 26-28 Maria Giovanna Elmi Beppe Grillo, Stefania Casini, and Vittorio Salvetti
1979 January 11-13 Mike Bongiorno Anna Maria Rizzoli
1980 February 7-9 Claudio Cecchetto Roberto Benigni and Olimpia Carlisi
1981 February 5-7 Eleonora Vallone and Nilla Pizzi
1982 January 28-30 Patrizia Rossetti
1983 February 3-5 Andrea Giordana Isabel Russinova, Emanuela Falcetti, and Anna Pettinelli
1984 February 2-4 Pippo Baudo Elisabetta Gardini, Edy Angelillo, Iris Peynado, and Tiziana Pini
1985 February 7-9 Patty Brard
1986 February 13-15 Loretta Goggi Anna Pettinelli, Sergio Mancinelli, and Mauro Micheloni
1987 February 4-7 Pippo Baudo Carlo Massarini
1988 February 24-27 Miguel Bosé and Gabriella Carlucci N/A
1989 February 21-25 Rosita Celentano, Paola Dominguin, Danny Quinn, and Gianmarco Tognazzi
1990 February 28-March 3 Teatro Palafiori, Sanremo, Italy Johnny Dorelli and Gabriella Carlucci
1991 February 27-March 2 Teatro Ariston, Sanremo, Italy Andrea Occhipinti and Edwige Fenech
1992 February 26-29 Pippo Baudo Alba Parietti, Brigitte Nielsen, and Milly Carlucci
1993 February 23-27 Lorella Cuccarini
1994 February 23-26 Anna Oxa
1995 February 21-25 Anna Falchi and Claudia Koll
1996 February 20-24 Sabrina Ferilli and Valeria Mazza
1997 February 18-22 Mike Bongiorno Piero Chiambretti and Valeria Marini
1998 February 24-28 Raimondo Vianello Eva Herzigová and Veronica Pivetti
1999 February 23-27 Fabio Fazio Laetitia Casta and Renato Dulbecco
2000 February 21-26 Luciano Pavarotti, Teo Teocoli and Inés Sastre
2001 February 26-March 3 Raffaella Carrà Enrico Papi, Massimo Ceccherini, Piero Chiambretti, and Megan Gale
2002 March 5-9 Pippo Baudo Manuela Arcuri and Vittoria Belvedere
2003 March 4-8 Serena Autieri and Claudia Gerini
2004 March 2-6 Simona Ventura Paola Cortellesi, Maurizio Crozza, and Gene Gnocchi
2005 March 1-5 Paolo Bonolis Antonella Clerici and Federica Felini
2006 February 27-March 3 Giorgio Panariello Ilary Blasi and Victoria Cabello
2007 Pippo Baudo and Michelle Hunziker N/A
2008 February 25-March 1 Pippo Baudo and Piero Chiambretti Bianca Guaccero and Andrea Osvárt
2009 February 17-21 Paolo Bonolis and Luca Laurenti N/A
2010 February 16-20 Antonella Clerici
2011 February 15-19 Gianni Morandi Elisabetta Canalis, Belen Rodriguez, Luca Bizzarri, and Paolo Kessisoglu
2012 February 14-18 Ivana Mrazova and Rocco Papaleo
2013 February 12-16 Fabio Fazio and Luciana Littizzetto N/A
2014 February 18-22
2015 February 10-14 Carlo Conti Arisa, Emma and Rocío Muñoz Morales
2016 February 9-13 Gabriel Garko, Virginia Raffaele, and Mădălina Ghenea
2017 February 7-11 Carlo Conti and Maria De Filippi N/A
2018 February 6-10 Claudio Baglioni, Michelle Hunziker, and Pierfrancesco Favino
2019 February 5-9 Claudio Baglioni, Virginia Raffaele, and Claudio Bisio
2020 February 4-8 Amadeus and Fiorello
2021 March 2-6
2022 February 1-5 Amadeus
2023 February 7-11 Amadeus and Gianni Morandi
2024 February 6-10 Amadeus Marco Mengoni, Giorgia, Teresa Mannino, Lorella Cuccarini and Fiorello
2025 February 11-15 Carlo Conti Antonella Clerici, Gerry Scotti, Bianca Balti, Cristiano Malgioglio, Nino Frassica, Miriam Leone, Elettra Lamborghini, Katia Follesa, Mahmood, Geppi Cucciari, Alessia Marcuzzi and Alessandro Cattelan

Song winners[]

Winning songs in cornflower blue are songs that represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest

Year Big Artists section Newcomers section
Winning song Winning artist Winning song Winning artist
1951 "Grazie dei fiori" Nilla Pizzi Newcomers section introduced in 1984
1952 "Vola colomba"
1953 "Viale d'autunno" Carla Boni & Flo Sandon's
1954 "Tutte le mamme" Giorgio Consolini & Gino Latilla
1955 "Buongiorno tristezza" Claudio Villa & Tullio Pane
1956 "Aprite le finestre" Franca Raimondi
1957 "Corde della mia chitarra" Claudio Villa & Nunzio Gallo
1958 "Nel blu, dipinto di blu" Domenico Modugno & Johnny Dorelli
1959 "Piove (Ciao, ciao bambina)"
1960 "Romantica" Tony Dallara & Renato Rascel
1961 "Al di là" Betty Curtis & Luciano Tajoli
1962 "Addio, addio" Domenico Modugno & Claudio Villa
1963 "Uno per tutte" Tony Renis & Emilio Pericoli
1964 "Non ho l'età" Gigliola Cinquetti & Patricia Carli
1965 "Se piangi, se ridi" Bobby Solo & The New Christy Minstrels
1966 "Dio, come ti amo" Domenico Modugno & Gigliola Cinquetti
1967 "Non pensare a me" Claudio Villa & Iva Zanicchi
1968 "Canzone per te" Sergio Endrigo & Roberto Carlos
1969 "Zingara" Bobby Solo & Iva Zanicchi
1970 "Chi non lavora non fa l'amore" Adriano Celentano & Claudia Mori
1971 "Il cuore è uno zingaro" Nada & Nicola Di Bari
1972 "I giorni dell'arcobaleno" Nicola Di Bari
1973 "Un grande amore e niente più" Peppino Di Capri
1974 "Ciao cara, come stai?" Iva Zannichi
1975 "Ragazza del sud" Gilda
1976 "Non lo faccio più" Peppino Di Capri
1977 "Bella da morire" Homo Sapiens
1978 "...e dirsi ciao" Matia Bazar
1979 "Amare" Mino Vergnaghi
1980 "Solo noi" Toto Cutugno
1981 "Per Elisa" Alice
1982 "Storie di tutti i giorni" Riccardo Fogli
1983 "Sarà quel che sarà" Tiziana Rivale
1984 "Ci sarà" Al Bano and Romina Power "Terra promessa" Eros Ramazzotti
1985 "Se m'innamoro" Ricchi e Poveri "Niente di più" Cinzia Corrado
1986 "Adesso tu" Eros Ramazzotti "Grande grande amore" Lena Biolcati
1987 "Si può dare di più" Gianni Morandi, Enrico Ruggeri & Umberto Tozzi "La notte dei pensieri" Michele Zarillo
1988 "Perdere l'amore" Massimo Ranieri "Canta con noi" Future
1989 "Ti lascerò" Anna Oxa & Fausto Leali "Canzoni" Mietta
1990 "Uomini soli" Pooh & Dee Dee Bridgewater "Disperato" Marco Masini
1991 "Se stiamo insieme" Riccardo Cocciante "Le persone inutili" Paolo Vallesi
1992 "Portami a ballare" Luca Barbarossa "Non amarmi" Aleandro Baldi & Francesca Alotta
1993 "Mistero" Enrico Ruggeri "La solitudine" Laura Pausini
1994 "Passerà" Aleandro Baldi "Il mare calmo della sera" Andrea Bocelli
1995 "Come saprei" Giorgia "Le ragazze" Neri per Caso
1996 "Vorrei incontrarti fra cent'anni" Ron with Tosca "Non ci sto" Syria
1997 "Fiumi di parole" Jalisse "Amici come prima" Paola e Chiara
1998 "Senza te o con te" Annalisa Minetti "Senza te o con te" Annalisa Minetti
1999 "Senza pietà" Anna Oxa "Oggi sono io" Alex Britti
2000 "Sentimento" Piccola Orchestra Avion Travel "Semplice sai" Jenny B
2001 "Luce (Tramonti a nord est)" Elisa "Stai con me (Forever)" Gazosa
2002 "Messaggio d'amore" Matia Bazar "Doppiamente fragili" Anna Tatangelo
2003 "Per dire di no" Alexia "Siamo tutti là fuori" Dolcenera
2004 "L'uomo volante" Marco Masini No Newcomers section competition held
2005 "Angelo" Francesco Renga "Non credo nei miracoli" Laura Bono
2006 "Vorrei avere il becco" Povia "Sole negli occhi" Riccardo Maffoni
2007 "Ti regalerò una rosa" Simone Cristicchi "Pensa" Fabrizio Moro
2008 "Colpo di fulmine" Giò Di Tonno & Lola Ponce "L'amore" Sonohra
2009 "La forza mia" Marco Canta "Sincerità" Arisa
2010 "Per tutte le volte che..." Valerio Scanu "Il linguaggio della resa" Tony Maiello
2011 "Chiamami ancora amore" Roberto Vecchioni "Follia d'amore" Raphael Gualazzi
2012 "Non è l'inferno" Emma "È vero (che ci sei)" Alessandro Casillo
2013 "L'essenziale" Marco Mengoni "Mi servirebbe sapere" Antonio Maggio
2014 "Controvento" Arisa "Nu juorno buono" Rocco Hunt
2015 "Grande amore" Il Volo "Ritornerò da te" Giovanni Caccamo
2016 "Un giorno mi dirai" Stadio "Amen" Francesco Gabbani
2017 "Occidentali's Karma" Francesco Gabbani "Ora mai" Lele
2018 "Non mi avete fatto niente" Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro "Il ballo delle incertezze" Ultimo
2019 "Soldi" Mahmood No Newcomers section competition held
2020 "Fai rumore" Diodato "Vai bene così" Leo Gassmann
2021 "Zitti e buoni" Måneskin "Polvere da sparo" Gaudiano
2022 "Brividi" Mahmood & Blanco "Mille Notti" Yuman
2023 "Due vite" Marco Mengoni "La città che odi" gIANMARIA
2024 "La noia" Angelina Mango "Boulevard" Clara
2025 "Balorda nostalgia" Olly "Vertebre" Settembre

Notes[]

  • The winners from 1951 to 1955 did not represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest as the contest was only introduced in 1956.
  • While 1967 co-winner Claudio Villa represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 1967, "Non pensare a me" was not selected as the Italian entry. He instead participated with the song "Non andare più lontano".
  • While 1968 co-winner Sergio Endrigo represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968, "Canzone per te" was not selected as the Italian entry. He instead participated with the song "Marianne".
  • While 1969 co-winner Iva Zanicchi represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 1969, "Zingara" was not selected as the Italian entry. She instead participated with the song "Due grosse lacrime bianche".
  • The winners from 1970 to 1975 did not represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest as RAI utilized the show Canzonissima to select the artist representing the country, while the Italian entry songs during those years were selected internally (with the exception of 1972 where Canzonissima winner Nicola Di Bari won the festival with "I giorni dell'arcobaleno").
  • The winners from 1976 to 1980, from 1983 to 1985, from 1987 to 1988, and from 1990 to 1992 did not represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest as RAI internally selected the Italian entrants in those years.
  • The winners from 1981 to 1982, in 1986, from 1994 to 1996, and from 1998 to 2010 did not represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest, as the country withdrew and did not participate in the contest during the aforementioned years.
  • While 1989 winning artists Anna Oxa and Fausto Leali represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 1989, "Ti lascerò" was not selected as the Italian entry. They instead participated with the song "Avrei voluto"
  • While 1993 winning artist Enrico Ruggeri represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 1993, "Misterio" was not selected as the Italian entry. He instead participated with the song "Sole d'Europa".
  • 2012 winner "Non è l'inferno" by Emma did not represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 as a specific jury had selected "Per sempre" by Nina Zilli, which finished 7th in the Big Artists section, as the Italian entry.
  • 2014 winner "Controvento" by Arisa did not represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 as RAI had internally selected "La mia città" by Emma as the Italian entry.
  • 2016 winner "Un giorno mi dirai" by Stadio did not represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 as the band declined the offer to participate in the contest. The organizers selected Big Artists section runner-up "Nessun grado di separazione" by Francesca Michielin as the Italian entry.
  • While 2020 winner "Fai rumore" by Diodato became the Italian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, it did not compete due to the contest's cancellation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • 2025 winner "Balorda nostalgia" by Olly did not represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 as the singer declined the offer to participate in the contest. The organizers selected Big Artists section runner-up "Volevo essere un duro" by Lucio Corsi as the Italian entry.

Broadcasters[]

Italy[]

Year Television International Radio Streaming
1951 none none Programma Nazionale none
1952
1953
1954
1955 Programa Nazionale Secondo Programma
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963 Programma Nazionale, Secondo Programma
1964 Programma Nazionale
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969 Programma Nazionale, Secondo Programma
1970 Programma Nazionale
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975 Radio 2
1976 Rete 1
1977 Radio 1
1978 Radio Due
1979
1980 Radio Uno
1981 Rai Radio 2
1982 Rai Radio 1
1983 RaiStereoDue, Rai Radio 1
1984 Rai Uno Rai Radio 1, RaiStereoUno
1985
1986 Europa TV
1987 none Rai Radio 2, RaiStereoDue
1988 Rai Radio 1, RaiStereoUno
1989
1990
1991
1992 Rai Radio 1
1993 RadioVerdeRai
1994 Rai Radio 1
1995 Rai Radio 2
1996
1997
1998
1999 Rai Radio 1
2000
2001 Rai Radio 2
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007 Rai.tv
2008
2009
2010
2011 Rai 1
2012 Rai 1, Rai HD
2013
2014
2015 Rai Radio 1, Rai Isoradio
2016 Rai Radio 2
2017 Rai 1 RaiPlay
2018
2019 Rai Italia
2020
2021
2022
2023 Rai 1, Rai 4K RaiPlay, RaiPlay Sound
2024
2025

International[]

Country Broadcaster(s) Year(s)
Albania RTV21 2009
RTSH 1 2018, 2022-2025
RTSH Muzikë 2022-2023
RTSH Tirana 2023
RTSH 2 2024-2025
Argentina Canal 13 1965, 1974
Canal 11 1967
Canal 9 1968, 1976
Radio Rivadavia 1970
Tevedos 1974
Australia GTV-9 1970
Network 0–28 1984
2SER 1986
Austria ORF 1956
Belgium NIR/BRT 1956-1957, 1965, 1967
INR/RTB 1956, 1967
Brazil Rádio Jornal do Brasil 1964, 1966-1967, 1969
TV Tupi Rio de Janeiro, TV Tupi São Paulo, TV Tupi Brasília, TV Tupi Paraná, TV Tupi Piratini 1970
Canada CTV 1971
CHIN-FM 2016
Rogers Cable, CFHD-DT 2024-2025
Chile Canal 13 1970-1972, 1974-1976, 1978-1979
Radio Pudahuel 1978
TVN 1985
Colombia Radio Sutatenza 1966
Cadena 2 1984
Costa Rica Radiolandia 1966
Canal 13 1981
Czechoslovakia Rádio Slovensko 1968
Radio Praha 1970
ČST1 1979
ČST2 1986
Denmark Statsradiofonien TV 1957, 1959
East Germany DFF 1965
Estonian SSR ETV 1986
Finland TV1 1986
France RTF 1956-1957, 1961
Deuxième chaîne 1966
Germany Deutsches Fernsehen 1956-1957, 1960, 1963
Europa TV 1986
3sat 1990
Hungary mtv 2003
Iceland Sjónvarpið 1970
Ireland Europa TV 1986
Israel Israeli Television 1971
Japan NHK General TV 1965, 1969, 1971-1973
Kosovo RTK 2009
Luxembourg Télé-Luxembourg/RTL Télé-Luxembourg 1957, 1979
Moldova Moldova 1 2024-2025
Monaco Télé Monte-Carlo 1957
Radio Monte Carlo 1962
Montenegro TVCG 2 2022-2025
Radio 98 2025
Netherlands NTS 1956-1957, 1963
Radio Omroep Nieuw Guinea 1959
Europa TV 1986
Netherlands Antilles Curom 1959
New Zealand 3YD 1965
Norway NRK P1 1985
Poland TV Polska 1965
Portugal Europa TV 1986
Romania Programul 1/TVR 1 1975, 2024-2025
Russia Vremya 2018
Serbia RTS2, RTS3 2023
South Korea DBS 1971, 1976
MBC 1971, 1974
KBS 2FM 1986
Soviet Union Programme Two 1966
Programme One 1985
Spain TVE, RNE 1965
Radio Barcelona, Radio Girona, Radio Huesca, Radio San Sebastián, Radio Zaragoza 1972
RTVE Play 2022, 2024-2025
Sweden Sveriges TV 1957, 1959
Switzerland SRG 1956-1957
TSR 1957, 1960-1961
RSI 1960-1961, 2009
Turkey İstanbul Radyosu 1961
İl radyosu 1974
TRT Televizyon 1976
Ukraine Suspilne Kultura 2024
United Kingdom BBC Television Service 1959-1960
GlitterBeam Radio 2022-2025
United States WOL 1961
WPIX 1962, 1967
WNJU-TV 1972, 1976, 1982
SIN 1985
WQTV 1987
WNYC-TV 1988, 1991, 1994
KTSF 1991-1992
Rai Internazionale Americas (W13BF), WNYS-TV 1994
Yugoslavia Televizija Ljubljana/TV Ljubljana 1 1966-1967, 1970, 1986
Televizija Beograd/TV Beograd 1 1966, 1970, 1973-1974, 1983, 1986-1987, 1989
Radio Novi Sad 1966
Televizija Zagreb/TV Zagreb 1 1970, 1973, 1986-1987
Radio Belgrade 1 1974
TV Novi Sad, TV Prishtina, TV Sarajevo 1 1986
TV Titograd 1 1986-1987