Italian broadcaster RAI has announced that 26 acts will be taking part in the Campioni category at the 2021 Festival di Sanremo. As previously reported, the acts taking part in the festival will be announced tomorrow live in the Sanremo Casino and broadcast on Rai 1.
The number of acts competing in next year’s Campioni category is up by two compared to this year’s festival. 2021 will see the largest number of acts competing in Sanremo since the 1988 contest. Sanremo 2021, which will also act as Italy’s national final for Eurovision, will also take place a month later than usual, running from 2nd to 6th March.
Another artist says “no” to Sanremo
Last week, reigning Sanremo champion Diodato confirmed that he will not be taking part in Sanremo 2021, stating that “going to the competition again is not my plan”. Now, Sanremo 2017 participant Michele Bravi has also confirmed that he won’t be taking part, despite being a rumoured contestant.
Speaking to his fans on Twitter, the former X Factor Italia contestant confirmed that he would not be taking part in the 2021 festival:
You are asking me if I will also be there in Sanremo 2021 and you write to me in anticipation. I want to tell you personally: for this edition, the answer is no.
– Michele Bravi, writing on Twitter
Irama, Annalisa and Italy’s 2018 Eurovision representative Ermal Meta are all amongst the other rumoured names for the contest. The official list of names will be published tomorrow.
Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest
Italy were amongst the seven countries that took part in the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. Before their first win, Italy scored two third place finishes in 1958 and 1963. Italy’s first win came in 1964 with Gigliola Cinquetti’s “Non ho l’età” in 1964 which won the contest in Copenhagen with 49 points. Their next top three didn’t come until 1974 – again with Gigliola Cinquetti. “Si” finished in 2nd place, behind Sweden’s ABBA.
In 1990, Toto Cutugno became Italy’s second, and most recent, winner with “Insieme: 1992”. It won the contest with 149 points. Italy took part a further 4 times in the 1990s, before taking a 13-year break from the contest from 1998 to 2010.
They returned to the contest in 2011 and has since finished in the top three on three occasions – 2nd in 2011, 3rd in 2015 and 2nd in 2019. Diodato was selected to represent Italy in 2020 with “Fai rumore” before the contest was cancelled.
Are you excited that we will see the highest numbers of Sanremo participations since 1988 next year? Who would you like to see take part?
Let us know in the comments below and on social media @ESCXTRA.