Italy: 26 acts will compete in the Campioni Category of Sanremo 2021

Italy: 26 acts will compete in the Campioni Category of Sanremo 2021
Tuesday, 15 December 2020

  • The Italian broadaster , RAI, has announced that the Campioni Category in Sanremo 2021 will see a total of 26 competing acts taking the stage next March. 

    RAI has confirmed that a total of 26 acts will take the stage at the 71st edition of Sanremo Festival in the Campioni Category. This number marks a slight increase of contestants as in the previous editions competed 24 acts. Next year's will be highest number for the Campioni Category since 1988. 

    Sanremo 2021  set to run from March 2 to March 6  and will take place with the public present at Teatro Ariston. The winner of the Campioni category will have the right to represent Italy at the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest, next May in Rotterdam

    The names of the competing acts will go public on December 17. 

     

    Italy in Eurovision 

    Italy has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 45 times since making its debut at the first contest in 1956.  After a 14-year absence from 1998 and on, the country returned to the contest in 2011. Italy has won the contest twice  in 1964 with Gigliola Cinquetti and her song “Non ho l’età”.  Italy’s second victory in the contest came in 1990 with Toto Cutugno and the song “Insieme: 1992”.

    Italy’s come back to the contest has proved to be very successful, the country having finished in the top ten in seven times of the last eight contests (2011–2019), with Raphael Gualazzi second in 2011, Nina Zilli ninth in 2012, Marco Mengoni seventh in 2013 and Il Volo third in 2015, Francesco Ghabbani 6th in Kiev. In 2018  the winners of Sanremo 2018 ,Ermal Meta and Fabrizio Moro, represented Italy in Eurovision in Lisbon with their song “Non mi avete fatto niente”. The Italian duo achieved an honorable 5th place in the Grand final with 308 points and a remarkable 3rd placing in the public voting.

    In 2019 , Mahmood, winner of Sanremo 2019 represented the country in Tel Aviv with his entry Soldi. The Italian representative kept the good results for Italy achieving a 2nd place in the Grand Final in Tel Aviv.

    This year Diodato might have won the Sanremo festival with 'Fai Rumore' but unfortunately didn't have the chance to perform in Rotterdam as the contest was cancelled de to the coronavirus pandemic.  Lets remember Diodato's stunning performance of "Fai Rumore' in Arena di Verona broadcasted during the alternative show "Europe Shine A Light" last May: