San Marino RTV has announced that the San Marino Song Contest 2026 will conclude with its grand final on Saturday 7 March 2026 at the Teatro Nuovo in Dogana.
Echoing the Eurovision structure
This year’s competition will mirror Eurovision’s structure, featuring two live semifinals on 3 and 4 March, both broadcast on San Marino RTV and Radio San Marino.
Each semifinal will showcase 20 acts selected through ‘Dreaming San Marino Song Contest’, the preliminary selection process organised by Media Evolution.
A total of 10 artists from the semifinals will advance to the final, where they will join 10 established acts. The winner will earn the right to represent San Marino at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna, held from 12 to 16 May.
A clarification on the date confusion
Earlier this month, Head of Delegation Denny Montesi had initially indicated 1 March 2026 as the final date, a statement later corrected by RTV San Marino.
In an email sent to That Eurovision Site the broadcaster’s Director General, Roberto Sergio, said:
“It was a misunderstanding. It’s impossible to think of holding the San Marino Song Contest final the day after Sanremo’s.”
He added that the date was under review, now officially confirmed for 7 March.
Returning names behind the production
The festival’s production team remains unchanged, with Massimo Bonelli returning as Artistic Director, Cristiano D’Alisera as Director, Marco Lucarelli handling photography, and Marco Calzavara in charge of stage design. The show is produced in collaboration with Media Evolution Srl, following the three-year agreement signed in September between San Marino RTV, the Secretariat for Tourism, and Media Evolution, securing the San Marino Song Contest as the nation’s official Eurovision selection through 2028.
San Marino’s Eurovision journey
As one of the smallest countries in Europe, San Marino made its debut in the competition in 2008 with Miodio and the song “Complice”. Since then, they have participated in the competition 14 times, qualifying for the grand final three times. Their best result was in 2019, with Serhat and “Say Na Na Na”.
Italian DJ Gabry Ponte represented San Marino in 2025 with his song “Tutta L’Italia” – the original theme song for Sanremo that year. Performing in the first semi-final, San Marino qualified for the final, where it ultimately placed last with 37 points. 28 points came from the juries, while 9 came from the televote.
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News Source: RTV San Marino
Photo Credit: EBU
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