In Italy, February isn’t just the month of love and carnival—it’s Sanremo time! Il Festival di Sanremo, officially known as Il Festival della Canzone Italiana, is the nation’s biggest music event —the one show that can glue the entire country to their TVs (even the haters will be watching it, they just won’t admit it!).
Held every February in the charming coastal town of Sanremo, Liguria, this festival is unique because it’s all about brand-new songs that have never been heard before. No one knows what the music will sound like until the artists step onto that stage. And amid future tormentoni (massive hit) and songs that spark endless debates, one thing is for sure: Sanremo never fails to deliver drama, surprises, and plenty of meme-worthy moments!
A bit of Sanremo history
Il Festival di Sanremo didn’t start off out as the iconic event we know and love today. It all began as a way to bring new customers to the local casino! The first edition kicked off in 1951, lasting three days and featuring just three artists. Yep, three—Nilla Pizzi, Achille Togliani, and Duo Fasano—who performed 20 songs between them.
Despite the humble beginnings, Sanremo quickly gained popularity, even becoming the inspiration for the Eurovision Song Contest. As its fame grew, so did the festival itself. The competition expanded from three to five days, the number of artists increased to 30 (each singing just one song instead of several), and in 1976, the event moved to its current home, the Teatro Ariston, due to renovations at the casino.
Over the years, Sanremo has been the launchpad for some of Italy’s biggest stars like Laura Pausini, Eros Ramazzotti, and, more recently, the Måneskin. The festival has also welcomed iconic superospiti (super guests) like Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, David Bowie, U2 and even the Queen.
Who is performing at Sanremo 2026?
Last year, Sanremo brought back a classic: the Nuove Proposte (New Proposals) category, where four fresh faces get their chance to shine. Meanwhile, the big names of Italian music (called the “Big”) will compete for the win. All in all, 30 artists will take the stage.
Here’s how the event breaks down:
- First Evening: All the Big artists perform for the first time.
- Second Evening: Half of the Big artists perform, plus the Nuove Proposte
- Third Evening: The other half of the Big artists perform, plus the two finalists from the Nuove Proposte category
- Fourth Evening: It’s time for the legendary cover night, which, this year, is a standalone contest and won’t affect the final votes.
- Fifth Evening: All the Big artists are back on stage for one last performance before the winner is revealed.
And here’s the full list of artists who’ll be performing at Sanremo 2026:
Big
- Arisa – “Magica favola”
- Bambole di Pezza – “Resta con me”
- Chiello – “Ti penso sempre”
- Dargen D’Amico – “Ai ai”
- Ditonellapiaga – “Che fastidio!”
- Eddie Brock – “Avvoltoi”
- Elettra Lamborghini – “Voilà”
- Enrico Nigiotti – “Ogni volta che non so volare”
- Ermal Meta – “Stella stellina”
- Fedez & Masini – “Male necessario”
- Francesco Renga – “Il meglio di me”
- Fulminacci – “Stupida sfortuna”
- J-Ax – “Italia starter pack”
- LDA & Aka 7even – “Poesie clandestine”
- Leo Gassmann – “Naturale”
- Levante – “Sei tu”
- Luchè – “Labirinto”
- Malika Ayane – “Animali notturni”
- Mara Sattei – “Le cose che non sai di me”
- Maria Antonietta & Colombre – “La felicità e basta”
- Michele Bravi – “Prima o poi”
- Nayt – “Prima che”
- Patty Pravo – “Opera”
- Raf – “Ora e per sempre”
- Sal Da Vinci – “Per sempre sì”
- Samurai Jay – “Ossessione”
- Sayf – “Tu mi piaci tanto”
- Serena Brancale – “Qui con me”
- Tommaso Paradiso – “I romantici”
- Tredici Pietro – “Uomo che cade”
Nuove proposte
- Angelica Bove – “Mattone”
- Blind, El Ma e Soniko – “Nei miei DM”
- Mazzariello – “Manifestazione d’amore”
- Nicolò Filippucci – “Laguna”
Duet Acts at Sanremo 2026 Cover Night
Sanremo’s fourth night is Cover Night, one of the most beloved evenings of the festival. This is when the competing artists take a break for their own songs to perform legendary Italian and international hits, teaming up with special guests. Get ready for unexpected pairings, fresh takes on classics, and some truly memorable moments on stage.
Here’s the lineup for Friday, February 27:
- Arisa – ‘Quello che le donne non dicono’ with the Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma
- Bambole di Pezza – ‘Occhi di gatto’ with Cristina d’Avena
- Chiello – ‘Mi sono innamorato di te’ with Morgan
- Dargen D’Amico – ‘Su di noi’ with Pupo and Fabrizio Bosso
- Ditonellapiaga – ‘The Lady Is a Tramp’ with TonyPitony
- Eddie Brock – ‘Portami via’ with Fabrizio Moro
- Elettra Lamborghini – ‘Aserejé’ with Las Ketchup
- Enrico Nigiotti – ‘En e Xanax’ with Alfa
- Ermal Meta – ‘Golden Hour’ with Dardust
- Fedez & Marco Masini – ‘Meravigliosa creatura’ with Stjepan Hauser
- Francesco Renga – ‘Ragazzo solo, ragazza sola’ with Giusy Ferreri
- Fulminacci – ‘Parole parole’ with Francesca Fagnani
- J-Ax – ‘E la vita, la vita’ with Ligera County Fam
- Lda & Aka 7even – ‘Andamento lento’ with Tullio De Piscopo
- Leo Gassmann – ‘Era già tutto previsto’ with Aiello
- Levante – ‘I maschi’ with Gaia
- Luchè – ‘Falco a metà’ with Gianluca Grignani
- Malika Ayane – ‘Mi sei scoppiato dentro al cuore’ with Claudio Santamaria
- Mara Sattei – ‘L’ultimo bacio’ with Mecna
- Maria Antonietta & Colombre – ‘Il mondo’ with Brunori sas
- Michele Bravi – ‘Domani è un altro giorno’ with Fiorella Mannoia
- Nayt – ‘La canzone dell’amore perduto’ with Joan Thiele
- Patty Pravo – ‘Ti lascio una canzone’ with Timofej Andrijashenko
- Raf – ‘The Riddle’ with The Kolors
- Sal Da Vinci – ‘Cinque giorni’ with Michele Zarrillo
- Samurai Jay – ‘Baila morena’ with Belén Rodríguez and Roy Paci
- Sayf – ‘Hit the Road Jack’ with Alex Britti and Mario Biondi
- Serena Brancale – ‘Besame Mucho’ with Gregory Porter and Delia
- Tommaso Paradiso – ‘L’ultima luna’ with Stadio
- Tredici Pietro – ‘Vita’ with Galeffi, Fudasca & band
How is the Sanremo winner picked?
Last year, the festival kept the mixed voting system, but made a few tweaks. The scores will come from three sources: a press jury, a radio jury, and the public televote, with each vote having a different weight depending on the night:
- First Evening: 100% press jury voting
- Second Evening: 50% public televoting; 50% radio jury voting
- Third Evening: 50% public televoting; 50% radio jury voting
- Fourth Evening: 34% public televoting; 33% press jury voting, 33% radio jury voting
- Fifth Evening: 34% public televoting; 33% press jury voting, 33% radio jury voting
The votes of this final night are added to the scores from all previous evenings, except the cover night. Then, the top five songs are revealed (in no particular order), and those artists perform one more time before the final round of voting. The combined scores will determine the winner.
Unlike past editions, there won’t be daily updates on the overall rankings. That means we’ll be kept in suspense until the final night when the top five artists are revealed (or at least this is the intention of the organizers). For sure, this is going to spark all sorts of predictions and speculations!
And the winner? Well, aside from the glory of taking home the top prize, the lucky artist gets to represent Italy at Eurovision. And we all know how big of a deal that can be. Take the Måneskin, who became global superstars after winning both Sanremo and Eurovision in 2021.
How to Watch Festival di Sanremo 2026 Online (Live Stream)
If you are interested in watching the Festival di Sanremo via live streaming but don’t live in Italy, never fear! RAI is streaming all five nights of Sanremo, including the final, on RAIPlay. (Normally, the RAI player is geo-blocked for viewers outside Italy, but during the Sanremo live shows, all restrictions will be lifted.) You can access the RAIPlay website here or you can download the app on your phone.
The festival takes place from February 24th to 28th. All five evenings will start around 20:40 CET and end at 01:30 CET, except the final, which is expected to last a bit longer until 02:00 CET.
Of course, you don’t have to watch the festival live. If you’d rather watch the highlights, you can do so on the RAIPlay website or YouTube.
Watching Sanremo, or any Italian television program for that matter, can be a great way to improve your listening skills as a learner of the language. We highly suggest you check it out!
Valentina Nicastro is a travel writer in love with her home country, Italy. Having travelled widely around the globe, she realised there was more to explore closer to home and decided to put the passport aside for a while. When she is not immersed in documenting Italy, you’ll find her donning her communication consultant hat, weaving words as a content writer and bridging linguistic divides as a translator.
