Italian music icon Laura Pausini has been confirmed as the co-host of the upcoming 76th Festival di Sanremo with host Carlo Conti for all five nights of the iconic Italian song festival.
A full week at the Ariston
The festival will run across five nights from 24 to 28 February 2026, during which Pausini and Conti will guide viewers through performances by Italy’s leading musical acts. Carlo Conti commented about Laura:
I thank Laura for immediately and enthusiastically accepting my invitation. It’s a great honor and a joy to share the festival’s hosting duties with such a strong, charismatic, and entertaining artist and woman as Laura. Each evening, we will be joined by various co-hosts, both male and female, who will enliven the Ariston stage.”
While Laura is super excited about this new step:
“Sanremo is my destiny. My smile. My temptation. My fear. I was born artistically in Sanremo in 1993, and this year I return proud and moved because with all the honor and joy in the world I will host the 76th edition of the Festival with Carlo Conti. First times are never forgotten, and like the first kiss, I feel emotional. I have spent every year of my life watching Sanremo and never thought I would find myself in this role now. I thank Carlo; the respect I have always felt for him has also turned into trust; he has managed to overcome my fear of imagining myself as a host. I can’t wait to have fun and be moved with him by my side.
I will truly do everything I can to live up to this stage, which remains the most important to me.”
About San Remo
Italy’s renowned Festival di Sanremo is, in many ways, the original Eurovision–the contest we know and love was modelled 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 revitalise 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 has 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 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 2025 was “Volevo essere un duro” by Lucio Corsi. At the close of voting, Italy scored a total of 256 points in the Eurovision 2025 Grand Final, placing 5th. Of these, 159 points came from the juries, whilst the remaining 97 points came from the televote.
How do you see the new duo? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. And don’t forget to follow That Eurovision Site on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, Threads, Tumblr, and Bluesky for all the latest updates on Sanremo and Eurovision 2026!
News Source: RAI
Photo Credit: RAI
That Eurovision Site 
Tim J