Italy has confirmed their intention to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2027, due to be held in Bulgaria. The Italian broadcaster RAI announced they will attend the contest in May.
Rai confirms 2027 participation
Italy’s broadcaster Rai has confirmed that the country will participate in the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest. Stefano de Martino, artistic director of the Fetsivali di Sanremo, confirmed a number of changes to the Italian musical festival. Most notably, that the Eurovision entrant will not be the winner of the Sanremo festival as before. Instead, the Eurovision participant will be the winner of the Friday night special competition.
Festivali di Sanremo 2027
Rai confirmed that the 77th edition of the Festival di Sanremo will take place between the 16th and 20th of February 2027. Stefano De Martino has confirmed that the covers night, usually held on the Friday night, has not been scrapped altogether and will be moved to make way for the special Eurovision selection night.
According to De Martino, the Eurovision representative and the Sanremo winner could still be the same artist if the voting produces the same outcome. However, he explained that the exact selection mechanism has not yet been decided. De Martino said:
The artists will have the opportunity to stage their performance according to their own creative vision. I believe this is already a small step towards making the Festival more international.
The presenter also revealed that he has already received around 500 songs ahead of next year’s Festival, although he admitted he does not know the exact number of submissions. He also confirmed that fewer songs will compete in Sanremo 2027 compared to recent editions. De Martino recently signed a two-year deal as Artistic Director, meaning he will oversee both the 2027 and 2028 editions of Festival di Sanremo.
Further details on how the Eurovision representative will be selected are expected to be announced in the coming months. If implemented as announced, the new format would mark the biggest change to Italy’s Eurovision selection process since the country returned to the Contest in 2011.
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 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 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. Changes to the show often happen year on year, and the winner of the festival does not always go on to represent Italy at Eurovision, as was the case in 2025.
Italy’s most recent Eurovision entry in 2026 was “Per sempre sì” by Sal da Vinci, who won the 2026 edition of Festival di Sanremo. Italy does not compete in the semi-finals and has a secured spot in the Grand Final of the contest. At the close of voting in the Grand Final of Eurovision 2026, Italy scored a total of 281 points, placing 5th. Of these, 134 points came from the juries, whilst the remaining 147 points came from the televote.
What do you think of Italy confirming their participation in Eurovision 2027? Who would you like to see participate in the next edition of the Festival di Sanremo contest? As always, please let us know what you think by getting involved in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads, tumblr, Bluesky, and ZOOP for more information about Eurovision 2027!
News Source: RAI
Image Credits: Corinne Cumming / EBU