Sanremo 2027: Eurovision representative will no longer be the Festival winner

Starting in 2027, Italy's Eurovision Song Contest entry will no longer be the overall winner of the Festival di Sanremo. Instead, the representative will be chosen through a dedicated evening of the Festival, a change announced on Monday by Rai alongside the regulations for the 2027 edition, which will be directed and hosted by Stefano De Martino. The evening is called «Serata Performance» because artists will present their competing song using interpretive, performance or staging approaches that are new compared with the other nights of the Festival. The regulations do not specify further details about these formats. The performance will be assessed with a vote decided half by the public and half by a dedicated jury made up of international figures from the music and entertainment world; this jury will not influence the final vote of the Festival. The mechanism is likely intended to highlight artists' ability to stage spectacular choreography and scenography, elements typically appreciated by the Eurovision audience. The regulations also contain details on how the other evenings work and how votes will be assigned. The Festival will run over 5 evenings, from Tuesday 16 to Saturday 20 February, with 24 artists (singers or groups) taking part. De Martino will host and direct the 2027 edition; a photo caption places him on the stage of the Teatro Ariston on 28 February 2026.