Sanremo Festival

The 76th edition of the Festival took place from February 24 to 28, 2026, at the Ariston Theatre, with Carlo Conti in the dual role of host and artistic director, joined for all five evenings by Laura Pausini. The late February timing was chosen to avoid overlap with the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

34 artists competed: 30 in the Champions category and 4 among the Newcomers. The winner was Sal Da Vinci with the song 'Per sempre sì', while Nicolò Filippucci won among the Newcomers. As the winner, Sal Da Vinci represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna, finishing in fifth place.

The five evenings (February 24-28)

• Tuesday, February 24 — First evening: performance of all competing Champions;
• Wednesday, February 25 — Second evening: continuation of the Champions' competition and the Newcomers' challenge;
• Thursday, February 26 — Third evening: continuation of the competition and the Newcomers' final;
• Friday, February 27 — Fourth evening of covers, with duets by the big artists;
• Saturday, February 28 — Final evening: final performances, combined vote from jury, radio, and public televoting, and proclamation of the winner.

The vote combined jury, radio, and public televoting. Broadcast live on Rai 1, Eurovision, Rai Italia, Rai Radio 2, RaiPlay, and RaiPlay Sound.

How to get there

Sanremo is served by its own train station on the Genoa-Ventimiglia line. By car, take the Sanremo exit on the A10 dei Fiori motorway. Reference airports: Genoa and Nice (France).

Tickets

Tickets for the evenings at the Ariston Theatre are in high demand and available in limited numbers; most of the audience follows the Festival on television on Rai 1 and RaiPlay. Numerous side events in the city are free.