Italy: Sanremo 2025 artists announced

We are slightly over two months away from the 75th edition of the iconic Festival di Sanremo taking place, and we are now one step closer to knowing who will take the trophy next year.

Today, Italian broadcaster RAI unveiled the list of the 30 acts competing in the "Big Artists" section of Sanremo 2025. The acts were selected by Host and Artistic Director, Carlo Conti.

Four former Eurovision artists

We see many familiar faces back on the Sanremo stage this year, including four artists who have been participating in Eurovision:

Sanremo 2025

The 75th edition of Festival di Sanremo will take place each evening from 11 February to 15 February. All the shows will be hosted by Artistic Director, Carlo Conti, who hosted Sanremo in 2015, 2016, and 2017. The show will be held in the iconic Teatro Ariston in Sanremo, Liguria, Italy.

Night 1 - Tuesday, 11 February:

All 30 acts will perform their song. The top five will be revealed at the end of the evening in a random order.

Night 2 - Wednesday, 12 February:

15 of the acts will perform their song for a second time. The top five from Night 2 will be announced at the end of the evening in a random order.

Night 3 - Thursday, 13 February:

The remaining 15 of the acts perform their song for a second time. The top five from Night 3 are uncovered in a random order at the end of the evening.

Night 4 - Friday, 14 February:

Cover night! Every artist will take the the stage to perform a song or medley of an Italian or international song and has the option to duet with a guest performer or another competing act. The winner of Cover Night is unveiled at the end of the evening, but will not be considered towards the overall score.

Night 5 - Saturday, 15 February:

The Final night! All 30 acts take the stage again to perform their songs. The rankings from the first three Nights, and Night 5 will be combined to determine who the Top Five will be. Those five will be perform their song a final time, with the winner determined by a jury and televote.

Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest

Italy has participated in 49 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.