Italy: Results from Night 1 of Sanremo 2024

Perchè Sanremo è Sanremo!

The moment many have waited for all last year is finally here: It's time to kick off the 74th edition of the iconic Festival di Sanremo!

The first of five nights has just taken place, and we saw all 30 acts take the stage with their songs. At the end of the night, the press jury voting (TV and online media) formed a ranking to determine which acts are in the top five for the night. After the results were revealed, the top five are:

1. Loredana Bertè - "Pazza"
2. Angelina Mango - "La noia"
3. Annalisa - "Sinceramente"
4. Diodato - "Ti muovi"
5. Mahmood - "Tuta gold"

Hosting Sanremo for his fifth and possible final year is the one and only, Amadeus. This year we'll see him joined by a special co-host each night. Tonight he was joined by two-time Sanremo winner and Eurovision representative for Italy in 2013 and 2023, Marco Mengoni.

But that's not all! Along with seeing all the acts perform their songs, we also got to see performances from the special guests selected by the host, Amadeus.

We saw co-host Marco Mengoni perform twice. First we heard Due Vite, his Sanremo 2023 winning and 4th place Eurovision 2023 song, and then finishing off a while later with a medley of some of his best hits, including his 2013 Sanremo winning and Eurovision 7th place song, L'essenziale.

Night 1 also brought us Lazza performing his Sanremo 2023 song Cenere on the Suzuki Stage (a stage dedicated to artists who have recently taken part in Sanremo), and Tedua performing one of his songs on the floating stage (a stage including artists popular amongst the younger crowd). Both stages are located just outside of the Teatro Ariston.

Tomorrow, for Night 2, we'll see 15 of the acts take the stage again to perform their songs. We'll then get a top five ranking out of the 15 who performed. Giorgia will be co-hosting alongside Amadeus tomorrow evening.

Sanremo 2024

• 6 February 2024: Sanremo Night 1
• 7 February 2024: Sanremo Night 2
• 8 February 2024: Sanremo Night 3
• 9 February 2024: Sanremo Night 4
• 10 February 2024: Sanremo Final

This year's edition of Festival di Sanremo will feature five live shows held at the iconic Teatro Ariston in Sanremo, all hosted by Amadeus with various co-hosts.

• Night 1: Tuesday, 6 February

All of the songs will be performed live. Voting will only be taken from the press jury (TV and online media) to determine the Night 1 results. Co-host: Marco Mengoni (Italy 2013 and 2023).

• Night 2: Wednesday, 7 February

We'll see half of the acts take the stage again to perform their songs. Voting this night will consist of 50% radio jury and 50% public voting. Co-host: Giorgia.

• Night 3: Thursday, 8 February

We'll see the remaining songs that did not take part in Night 2. The voting method will be the same as Wednesday (Night 2). Co-host: Teresa Mannino.

• Night 4: Friday, 9 February

Each of the 30 artists will perform a cover of another song. The artists can perform the song solo or together with an acclaimed Italian or international guest artist. Co-host: Lorella Cuccarini.

• Night 5: Saturday, 10 February

The final night! All 30 songs will be performed one last time. Public voting from the 5th night, combined with the results from the previous nights, will determine the five songs for the Superfinal. The voting will then be split between public voting (34%), the press jury (33%), and the radio jury (33%). The winner will have the option to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. Co-host: Fiorello.

Italy in Eurovision

Italy has participated in 48 Eurovision contests. They have won three times:

• 1964: Gigliola Cinquetti – Non Ho L'étà
• 1990: Toto Cutugno – Insieme: 1992
• 2021: Måneskin – Zitti e buoni

Their worst result came in 1966, when they finished last.

Italy's most well-known song is "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu," better known as "Volare" from 1958. It is also the most covered Eurovision Song Contest song ever. The song has been covered by famous stars such as Dean Martin, Cliff Richard, David Bowie and many more.

Italy took a long pause from the Eurovision Song Contest between 1998 and 2010. Since then, Italy has been a "Big-5" country, which means they don't have to go through the Semi-final round and are automatically qualified for the Grand Final.