Shortly after the announcement that the upcoming Sanremo Giovani will now be split from the main contest in February, Rai have revealed the rules for the event.
New Rules
Unlike in recent years where the winners of Sanremo Giovani would earn their right to compete at the main event in February, the four winners of this contest will perform with their songs again in a Newcomers section. Three of the acts will come from the main competition, with the final fourth being one of the two acts invited through Area Sanremo.
The split is in part to put more emphasis on the new talent, and as such will see the age range of eligible competitors drop from 16-29 to 16-26. During the audition stage of the contest a list of at least 40 acts will be drawn up before ultimately being scaled down to 24 during the live audition stage.
Sanremo Giovani 2024
The actual contest will take place between the 12th of November and the 18th of December. The first stage will take place over four evenings weekly beginning on the 12th of November on Rai 2. A jury will hear 6 of the 24 acts perform and send 3 of them through to the next stage. The 12 acts who made it through will then be halved again in a semi final on the 10th of December. The final of the contest will see 8 acts compete; the 6 who’ve made it through the previous stages and the two internal acts from Area Sanremo.
The four acts who make it through will earn the right to perform during the main event in February. They will be decided by an equally weighted jury and televote on the 18th of February.
It should be noted that at the time of writing Italy has not made any decision on it’s participation at Eurovision 2025 in Switzerland. Sanremo and its peripheral contests exist beyond Eurovision and details on them should not be regarded as confirmation.
What is Sanremo?
Italy’s renowned Festival di Sanremo is, in many ways, the original Eurovision–the contest we know and love was modeled after it, after all! First broadcast in 1951, it is the longest-running annual TV music competition in the world. Sanremo was developed as a way to revitalize the city of Sanremo’s economy and reputation after the Second World War, and has since split into two smaller contests: the “Big Artists” section, whose winner gets first refusal to represent Italy in Eurovision, and the “Newcomers” section, first included in 1984. Scores are determined through public voting and two groups of juries, and the festival takes place across five nights.
Italy’s Eurovision Journey
Italy has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest since the very beginning and have always been considered a powerhouse in the contest. The country has won the contest on three occasions in 1964, 1990 and 2021. Italy withdrew after 1997, returning again in 2011 with Raphael Gualazzi who sang ‘Madness Of Love’. Raphael placed second in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest after scoring 189 points.
Italy’s most recent entry in 2024 was “La Noia” by Angelina Mango. At the close of voting, Italy scored a total of 268 points in the Eurovision 2024 Grand Final, placing 7th. Of these, 164 points came from the juries, whilst the remaining 104 points came from the televote.
What do you think of Sanremo’s rules? Will you be watching next year’s show? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky as we head towards rehearsals for Eurovision 2024!
News Source: Rai
Photo Credit: Getty / Sky News Italia
Giwrgos Oiko