RAI, the Italian national broadcaster has announced that Marco Mengoni  the winner of the 2013 Sanremo Song Festival will have the honour of representing Italy at the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö next  May.

Marco Mengoni enjoys great fame and name in Italy and is among the most sought after Italian artists.

Who is Marco Mengoni?

Marco was born in 1985 in Italy and has been singing since the tender age of 14.

Marco Mengoni shot to fame in 2009 when he won the 3rd season of the Italian version of the X Factor. The following year he competed at the 60th Sanremo Song Festival with the song Credimi Ancora, achieving a 3rd placing.  He has released a total of 4 albums. In 2010 Marco won the MTV Best Italian Act Award and the MTV Best European Act Award.

The 2013 Italian Eurovision entry will be revealed by RAI in due course.

It it is the 3rd consecutive year that Rai opts to select the Italian Eurovision representative via the Sanremo Song Festival. In 2011 the Italian representative Raphael Gualazzi  was selected from the Giovani category whilst in 2012 Nina Zilli was selected from the Campioni category

Marco Mengoni – L’essenziale

This is the first time since 1997 a San Remo winning act will go to the Eurovision Song Contest.

Italy debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest  in 1956 and was one of the founder members of the contest. The country has won the event 2 times in 1964 and 1990. Italy withdrew from the event in 1998 and returned back in 2011.

Stay tuned to Esctoday.com for the latest information on Italy and the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest.