Tonight the 2026 edition of Sanremo kicked off slightly later than previous years so as not to clash with this year’s Winter Olympics. All of the 30 acts participating in this year’s festival have performed their entry for the first time.
The running order for night one of Sanremo 2026 was as follows …
Ditonellapiaga opened tonight’s show, whilst LDA and AKA 7even closed tonight’s proceedings.
| Order | Artist | Entry |
| 1 | Ditonellapiaga | Che fastidio! |
| 2 | Michele Bravi | Prima o poi |
| 3 | Sayf | Tu mi piaci tanto |
| 4 | Mara Sattei | Le cose che non sai di me |
| 5 | Dargen D’Amico | AI AI |
| 6 | Arisa | Magica favola |
| 7 | Luchè | Labirinto |
| 8 | Tommaso Paradiso | I romantici |
| 9 | Elettra Lamborghini | Voilà |
| 10 | Patty Pravo | Opera |
| 11 | Samurai Jay | Ossesione |
| 12 | Raf | Ora e per sempre |
| 13 | J-Ax | Italia starter pack |
| 14 | Fulminacci | Stupida sfortuna |
| 15 | Levante | Sei tu |
| 16 | Fedez & Masini | Male necessario |
| 17 | Ermal Meta | Stella Stellina |
| 18 | Serena Brancale | Qui con me |
| 19 | Nayt | Prima che |
| 20 | Malika Ayane | Animali notturni |
| 21 | Eddie Brock | Avvoltoi |
| 22 | Sal Da Vinci | Per sempre sì |
| 23 | Enrico Nigiotti | Ogni volta che non so volare |
| 24 | Tredici Pietro | Uomo che cade |
| 25 | Bambole di Pezza | Resta con me |
| 26 | Chiello | Ti penso sempre |
| 27 | Maria Antonietta & Colombre | La felicità e basta |
| 28 | Leo Gassmann | Naturale |
| 29 | Francesco Renga | Il meglio di me |
| 30 | LDA & Aka 7even | Poesie clandestine |
In addition, the top 5 from tonight’s show were revealed to the audience. The press voted for their favourites, with the vote consisting of journalists from the web, tv, and magazines. The top 5 tonight were as follows (in random order):
| Artist | Entry |
| Ditonellapiaga | Che fastidio! |
| Arisa | Magica favola |
| Fulminacci | Stupida sfortuna |
| Serena Brancale | Qui con me |
| Fedez & Masini | Male necessario |
Carlo Conti returned as artistic director and host for the second consecutive year, joined throughout the week by Laura Pausini, who makes her debut as a permanent co-host of the Festival. For tonight’s opening show, actor Can Yaman completed the presenting trio.
Among the special guests, Tiziano Ferro returned to the Ariston stage once again. Reigning Sanremo winner Olly opened the 76th edition of the Festival, while Gaia inaugurated the Suzuki Stage in Piazza Colombo and Max Pezzali performed on board the Costa Toscana. The evening also featured a special appearance from 105-year-old Gianna Pratesi.
Italy’s Eurovision History
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 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.
Who would you like to see represent Italy at Eurovision 2026 ? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky as we start looking ahead to Eurovision 2026!
News source : RAI
Photo credits : RAI
Giwrgos Oiko