RAI, the Italian national broadcaster, has released the full set of rules and regulations for the 2017 Sanremo Music Festival.

The 2017 Sanremo Music Festival, taking place next February, will be hosted by Carlo Conti at the Teatro Arena and will run over the course of 5 nights.

As with previous years, the 67th Sanremo competition will be split into 2 sections; the Nuove Proposte category (Newcomers) and the Campioni category (Big Artists).

A full set of rules and regulations for both sections of the contest can be found via RAI’s website, including a list of requirements for the competition along with deadline dates (set in December).

Nuove Proposte

In the Nuove Proposte section of the contest, a total of 8 artists will perform their own songs and compete over the course of 3 nights.

The contest will start with the semi-final duels, with 4 acts competing on night 2 and 4 acts competing on night 3. The winners from each of the duels will then move forward to the final of the contest.

The 4 finalists will perform their songs to the public once again who will then go on to decide the winner of Nuove Proposte on night 4 of Sanremo.

Campioni

The Campioni section of the contest will run throughout the full 5 nights of the Sanremo Music Festvial, consisting of a total of 20 participants.

Night 1 will see the 20 acts performing their entries to the public for the first time, running throughout the entire evening. An initial vote will take place, continuing into the second and third nights of the contest.

The 20 acts will then be split, with 10 performing on night 2 and 10 performing on night 3. The vote will continue with 12 moving forward directly to the final. The 8 non-qualifiers will appear in the repechage on night 4.

Night 4 will see the 12 direct finalists perform a cover of a well-known Italian hit, with the winner going on to win the Cover Award of the competition. The 8 repechage acts will also perform once again with a newly-set vote, with the top 3 joining the 12 direct qualifiers in the final.

The 15 finalists will perform for a final time on the fifth and final night of Sanremo 2017 where the vote will take place once again. The winner of the combined public/jury votes will be crowned the winner of the Sanremo Music Festival 2017.

The winner of the Campioni section of Sanremo 2017 will be offered the opportunity to represent Italy at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest. If the Sanremo winner declines the offer, RAI will go on to select another Sanremo participant to represent the nation at the Kyiv-hosted competition in May.

Sanremo 2017 dates

• 07/02: Night 1 (Campioni section begins)
• 08/02: Night 2 (Campioni section continues; Nuove Proposte begins)
• 09/02: Night 3 (Campioni and Nuove Proposte sections continues)
• 10/02: Night 4 (Campioni section cover night; Nuove Proposte winner decided)
• 11/02: Night 5 (Campioni winner decided)

2016 saw Stadio voted as the winner of the 66th Sanremo Music Festival, receiving 43% of the final vote. Unable to compete in the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest due to tour commitments, Sanremo runner-up Francesca Michielin was selected to represent Italy in the city of Stockholm with her Sanremo entry, No degree of separation.

Michielin received a total of 124 points in the Grand Final of Eurovision 2016, finishing in 16th position.