The prestigious Italian music festival, Sanremo Festival, celebrates its 75th edition this year. Tonight marks the first round, featuring all 30 participants, followed by three more exciting shows leading up to the grand finale on Saturday.

Once again, the iconic Teatro Ariston in Sanremo will set the stage for this spectacular event, with Carlo Conti returning as host with various guest hosts e.g. Mahmood.

Great to see to welcome back former Italian Eurovision representatives among this year’s participants: Massimo Ranieri (“L’amore è Un Attimo”, Dublin 1971, 5^th place and “Chi Sarà Con Te” , Luxembourg 1973, 13^th place), Francesca Michielin (“No Degree Of Separation”, Stockholm 2016, 16^th place) and Francesco Gabbani (“Occidentali’s Karma” , Kyiv 2017, 6^th place).

The Sanremo Festival will take place over five exciting nights, each featuring different categories and voting systems:

Night 1 (Tuesday): All 30 participants in the main category will perform their festival songs. The press jury will cast their votes.

Night 2 (Wednesday): Half of the participants will perform again, with votes split between the radio jury (50%) and the public (50%). Additionally, two newcomers will debut, judged by the press jury (33%), radio jury (33%), and public vote (33%).

Night 3 (Thursday): The remaining half of the participants will take the stage under the same voting system as Night 2.

Night 4 (Friday): A special cover night, where all participants will perform duets with guest artists, such as Il Volo. The press jury, radio jury, and public vote will all contribute, and the results will influence the final outcome.

Final Night (Saturday): All contestants will once again present their festival songs. The press jury (33%), radio jury (33%), and public vote (33%) will determine the winner.

As always, the results remain a closely guarded secret until the big reveal. The winner will earn the right to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest, though participation is not mandatory.

You can watch tonight’s Sanremo Festival on the RAI Player at 20.40 CET.

Here you can watch the first short interviews with the performers (in Italian language):

1 Marcella Bella – „Pelle diamante“

2 Serena Brancale – „Anema e core“

3 Bresh – „La tana del granchio“

4 Brunori – „Sas L’albero delle noci“

5 Clara  – „Febbre“

6 Coma_Cose – „Cuoricini“

7 Lucio Corsi – „Volevo essere un duro“

8 Simone Cristicchi – „Quando sarai piccola“

9 Elodie – „Dimenticarsi alle 7“

10 Emis Killa – „Demoni“

11 Fedez – „Battito“

12 Francesco Gabbani – „Viva la vita“

13 Gaia – „Chiamo io chiami tu“

14 Giorgia – „La cura per me“

15 Rocco Hunt – „Mille vote ancora“

16 Irama – „Lentamente“

17 Francesca Michielin – „Fango in paradiso“

18 Noemi – „Se t’innamori muori“

19 Willie Peyote – „Grazie, ma no grazie“

20 Rkomi – „Il ritmo delle cose“

21 Rose Villain   – „Fuorilegge“

22 Achille Lauro – „Incoscienti giovani“

23 Massimo Ranieri – „Tra le mani un cuore“

24 Sarah Toscano – „Amarcord“

25 Modà – „Non ti dimentico“

26 Joan Thiele – „Eco“

27 The Kolors – „Tu con chi fai l’amore“

28 Tony Effe – „Damme ’na mano“

29 Olly – „Balorda nostalgia“

30 Shablo feat. Guè, Joshua, Tormento – „La mia parola“