Back in August, Rai confirmed that the festival will be held from Tuesday 1 to Saturday 5 February 2022. The broadcaster has previously teased changes ahead of next year’s festival, including the Nuove Proposte category being dropped from the festival. With the publication of the official rules, further format changes have been revealed.
Previously, Artistic Director and host of Sanremo 2022 Amadeus outlined some potential changes ahead for the festival. These included a reduction of the number of artists competing in the Campioni category, shortening the run time and the return of a live audience.
Another change that has now been revealed is that the Sanremo Orchestra will no longer have a vote. Instead, members of the press in Sanremo’s press centre will the be ones voting on the first two nights.
As with last year, the broadcaster has remained clear in the connection between Sanremo and Eurovision candidacy. Acts will once again need to confirm their intention to participate in Eurovision in the event that they won the festival, with Rai retaining the right to select their representative if the winner refuses.
Of course, the festival is still very much its own entity – the maximum length of songs is four minutes, rather than the EBU’s requirement of three.
Format
As listed by Wiwibloggs, the format for each night of the festival are as follows:
Night one: Tuesday 1 February
- The first 12 acts debut their entries.
- Media juries vote – Print and TV jury (33%), radio jury (34%), web media jury (33%).
- Ranking announced, but no eliminations.
Night two: Wednesday 2 February
- Next 12 acts debut their entries
- Media juries vote.
- Ranking announced, no eliminations.
- Combined ranking of first two nights revealed.
Night three: Thursday 3 February
- All 24 acts perform their competing songs throughout the night.
- Demoscopic jury (50%) and televote (50%) vote.
- Combined overall ranking revealed.
Night four: Friday 4 February
- Covers night – All 24 competing acts perform a song from the 1960s, ’70s or ’80s (Italian or otherwise). Acts can also perform with collaborators if they choose.
- Voting from televote (34%), combined press jury (33%) and demoscopic jury (33%).
- Combined ranking of first four nights revealed.
Night five: Saturday 5 February
- All 24 acts perform their competing songs for the final time.
- Voting from televote.
- Top three acts in overall combined ranking proceed to the Super Final.
- Super Final voting is reset; the winner will be decided by 34% televoting, 33% press jury and 33% demoscopic jury.
About Sanremo 2021
The 71st edition of Sanremo Music Festival took place between the 2nd and 6th March 2021. This was later than usual, having been pushed back due to the ongoing pandemic, which also caused other changes for the festival. For one, after weeks of exchanges between Sanremo’s Artistic Director Amadeus, the CTS and Rai, the festival did not have a live audience.
Despite the protocols, the festival went ahead with 26 participating artists. Alongside Amadeus and Floriello, the shows were co-hosted by Matilda De Angelis, Elodie, Vittoria Ceretti, Barbara Palombelli and Beatrice Venezi. Night one was opened with a performance of “Fai Rumore” by Diodato, who won the 2020 edition.
On night five, 26 became three, with Måneskin, Michielin and Fedez and Ermal Meta advancing to the superfinal. Ultimately, Måneskin triumphed with a staggering 53.5% of the vote. This success translated to Eurovision victory, winning the contest in Rotterdam with 524 points.
Are you looking forward to Sanremo 2022? Who would you like to see participate? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to follow us on Spotify and YouTube to see our reactions to the news in the run up to the 2022 national final season!