Eurovision News 
Italy 
RAI, the Italian national broadcaster has published the rules and regulations for the 77th Sanremo Festival and confirmed the dates for the competition.
Sanremo 2027 will determine will be determine the Italian act and entry for the upcoming 2027 Eurovision Song Contest in Bulgaria on the fourth soiree of the competition.
RAI has published the rules and regulations for Sanremo 2027. Stefano di Martino who will be be artistic director and host of the competition has introduced a series of changes to the competition:
- A total of 24 acts will be competing in the competition.
- The winner of Sanremo 2027 will be determined via the results of the first, second and third night
- The fourth night known as the Performance Night will determine the Italan Eurovision 2027 act and entry via a combined audience and interanational jury deliberation. The international jury will consist of prominent international music and entertainmant professionals and figures.
- The third night will feautre the Covers Night, which will have its own ranking and winner.
- The results of the first, second and third night will be determined via People’s Jury, the Press, TV, and Web Jury, and the Radio Jury.
Sanremo 2026 will consist of five live shows and will run from 16-20 February:
- 16/02/2027- First Serata
- 17/02/2027- Second Serata
- 18/02/2027- Third Night– (Covers Night)
- 19/02/2027- Fourth Serata– (Eurovision Night aka Performance Night)
- 20/02/2027- Fifth Serata– ( Grand Final)
RAI’s press release reads:
Rai has announced the rules for the 2027 Sanremo Music Festival. Stefano De Martino will be the artistic director of the event, developing and coordinating the Festival’s editorial project together with the Prime Time Entertainment Department.
The Italian Song Festival will be broadcast live from the Ariston Theatre in Sanremo from February 16 to 20, 2027, and will consist of five evenings with 24 artists competing in the single Champions category.
Among them, the winner of Sarà Sanremo 2026, who will automatically be admitted to the competition.
The new rules introduce a refreshed format that combines tradition and innovation. Alongside the usual performances of new songs, the Festival will offer two special evenings.
The Third Evening, dedicated to Covers, will see each artist perform a song from the Italian or international repertoire. The performances will be performed with Italian or international guests, in agreement with the Artistic Direction and Rai.
The Covers Evening will have its own ranking and its own winner, without affecting the final outcome of the competition.
Furthermore, one of the main new features of the 2027 edition is the Performance Evening, scheduled for Friday, February 19th. On this occasion, artists will present their songs using interpretations, performances, or stage settings unlike those seen on other Festival evenings.The winner will be chosen by the audience and a new International Jury of Experts, composed of prominent figures from the world of music and international entertainment. The winning artist of the Performance Evening will represent RAI and Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2027.
A structured and balanced voting system has been confirmed, based on the participation For the Performance Evening, the competing artists will be judged by the People’s Jury and the International Jury of Experts.
The final ranking of the Festival will be determined by the results of the votes from the First, Second, and Fifth Evenings. At the end of the final, the top-ranked artists will advance to a final round where the public vote will help determine the overall winner of the Sanremo Festival 2027, along with the “treasure trove” from the three previous votes.
Of note is the section dedicated to the use of Artificial Intelligence, which explicitly states that the competing songs must be an expression of human creativity: the use of AI systems will not be permitted if they replace or alter the creative contribution of the authors and artists.
The 24 competing songs must be unreleased and have a maximum duration of 3 minutes and 30 seconds, while the covers of the Third Evening may have a maximum duration of 4 minutes.
Artistic proposals for participation in the Festival must be received by November 23, 2026, while the selected artists’ lineup may be announced starting November 29, 2026.
With the new Regulations, Rai confirms its desire to project Sanremo towards an increasingly contemporary and international dimension, while preserving its identity, cultural value, and role as the leading event in Italian music.
