Italian public broadcaster RAI has announced some revolutionary changes for the next edition of the Sanremo music festival. Unlike in previous editions, there will not be a split in established and young artists (The “big” and “nuove proposte” category) but all of the artists will compete on an equal footing.
The Festival della canzone italiana di Sanremo 2019 will be held between 5th and 9th February 2019. In recent years, the winner of the festival has been offered first refusal on representing Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest. In the event that the winner declines, RAI then approaches the next suitable singer.
Ermal Meta and Fabrizio Moro won Sanremo in 2018 and represented Italy in Eurovision in Lisbon. The duo performed the song “Non mi avete fatto niente”, and went on to finish in 5th place with a grand total of 308 points. They finished 17th with the juries but ended the night in third with the public vote.