Carlo Conti, the new artistic director of the Sanremo Music Festival, has unveiled significant changes for Sanremo 2025. Among the notable adjustments are the shorter duration of the festival’s evenings, a reduced number of participating entries, and a new format for the Nuove Proposte category.
Key Changes for Sanremo 2025
Carlo Conti, along with RAI, has detailed the initial plans for the five nights of the festival. Two major changes include:
- Random Order Announcement: The top five performances of each night will be announced in a random order, and the precise ranking will not be disclosed.
- Covers’ Night Exclusion: The results from the Covers’ Night will not be considered in the final result.
Conti believes these changes will lead to less biased ratings from journalists, preventing them from influencing the final outcome by voting en masse for or against a song.
Additionally, the number of competing songs has been reduced to 24, six fewer than the 30 entries in the previous festival.
Sanremo 2025 Schedule
First Evening: All 24 artists will perform their competing songs, with the top five announced in a random order.
Second Evening: 12 artists will perform their songs, with the top five revealed in a random order.
Third Evening: The remaining 12 artists will perform, with the top five revealed in a random order.
Fourth Evening: Covers’ Night, where artists will perform in duets. The results will not affect the main competition.
Final: All 24 artists will perform again. The top five from the combined rankings of all semifinals will advance to the Superfinal, where they will perform once more. Juries and televote will then decide the winner.
Nuove Proposte Category
The Nuove Proposte category will have its separate contest. Unlike previous years, the winner will not compete in the main category of Sanremo 2025. This decision marks a return to past practices where newcomers had a distinct competition.
Festival Format and Presentation
Carlo Conti aims to reduce the duration of the festival nights, with a target end time of 1 AM. Conti also confirmed the return of the Dopo Festival, a late-night talk show discussing the day’s performances. His focus remains on ensuring the songs are the centerpiece of the festival.
Sanremo 2025 promises to bring fresh changes under Carlo Conti’s direction, focusing on shorter nights, fewer entries, and a revised competition format that aims to reduce bias and enhance the festival’s appeal. The Italian music community and Eurovision fans eagerly await further developments and the official song selection for the next Eurovision Song Contest.
