RAI: Considerations for Selecting Eurovision Representative from Sanremo via International Committee!

The lights went out at the Teatro Ariston for the triumphant 74th edition of the Sanremo Festival, with 1.5 million more viewers tuning in compared to last year to watch the grand final on RAI1. Shortly before, the RAI press conference, hosted by Amadeus and three past winners, concluded with the confirmation from Angelina Mango that she would represent Italy at Eurovision 2024. However, there was another significant development regarding Sanremo’s role in selecting Italy’s Eurovision representative.

Separation of Sanremo Winner and Eurovision Representation from 2025?

During the press conference, Amadeus was asked if, during his years as host and artistic director of the festival, he ever considered using an international committee to select the most suitable artist and song to represent Italy at Eurovision.

While Amadeus answered negatively, the response from RAI officials was different, indicating that it is something they will consider for the next year.

The above response was obviously prompted by this year’s events, particularly the near-victory of Geolier with a song widely acknowledged as having no chance at Eurovision, while there were several songs at Sanremo that would have performed much better. Furthermore, Sanremo serves incidentally as Italy’s national final, and the voting criteria of both the audience, journalists, and radio representatives do not necessarily align with Eurovision representation.

So, the question is reasonable, and RAI‘s answer is also sensible, perhaps believing that disconnecting the Sanremo winner from Eurovision representation and selecting the artist who will represent Italy in the competition may yield even better results, especially in a year like this one.

Amadeus was asked if he ever considered having an international jury at Sanremo to select the Italian representative for Eurovision. He said he never thought about it.

RAI managers said they'll consider the idea and they will discuss about it.

— Festival di Sanremo (en) (@sanremo_en) February 11, 2024

RAI‘s Mammoth Revenues and Viewership

The Sanremo final ended with massive television ratings for RAI, surpassing last year’s by a significant margin. Specifically, an average of 74.1% of viewers, totaling 14,301,000, tuned in, compared to 66% and 12,256,000 viewers last year.

The moment with the highest viewership was during Amadeus‘s humorous sketch with Fiorello, with over 18,000,000 viewers watching RAI1, and the peak share reached 85.26% during the announcement of the top 5 results.

RAI‘s revenue from advertising during the five days of the festival was €60,182,000, far exceeding the expenses incurred by the Italian public broadcaster for Sanremo, proving that creating something so remarkable yields commensurate returns.

Amadeus‘s Future at Sanremo and His Possible Successor

Amadeus revealed that in two weeks, he will meet with RAI for a general assessment of Sanremo 2024. He did not clarify whether there would be any discussion about extending their collaboration into 2025. However, the name of a possible successor to Amadeus as host and artistic director of the festival has already been circulating in the press.

That person is the former politician and long-time popular Italian television host, Gerry Scotti. A few days earlier, Amadeus and Gerry Scotti had dinner, discussing the Sanremo Festival. The only issue for him to take on this significant role is that he belongs to the dynamics of private television and would need to resolve any outstanding issues there.

Of course, all of the above will make sense if Amadeus steps down and does not remain in his position in 2025. In that case, Amadeus will be the longest-serving host and artistic director of Sanremo.

Stay tuned for all the developments!