Italy’s path to Eurovision could change under a plan reported by Dagospia that would separate the Sanremo winner from the country’s Eurovision representative.
Giuseppe Candela reported Saturday that music industry figures have pushed for a parallel contest inside Sanremo 2027. Under the reported plan, Italy’s Eurovision act would not be the winner of the festival final. The representative would be the winner of the fourth night, which has been used in recent years for cover performances.
Rai has not announced such a change. The report does not cite a public rule change, and Sanremo 2027 regulations have not been released.
The plan described by Dagospia would move the fourth night from a cover contest to a Eurovision-focused competition. Artists would perform their Sanremo entries again with staging designed for Eurovision, including changes to the stage presentation and performance concept.
That would mark a shift from the system used in 2026. Under the Sanremo 2026 rules, Rai designated the Sanremo winner, or another artist chosen by the artistic director with Rai, to represent Italy at Eurovision. If the winner was not admitted by the European Broadcasting Union or did not submit the required acceptance form, Rai would choose Italy’s representative according to the final Sanremo ranking.
Sal Da Vinci won Sanremo 2026 with “Per sempre sì” and accepted the Eurovision invitation. He represented Italy at Eurovision 2026 in Vienna.
Dagospia reported that the proposed change is backed by FIMI and record labels. The report said the change would create two winners at Sanremo: one for the festival and one for Eurovision. It also said the change could make the festival more appealing to acts that want a route to the European contest without needing to win the Sanremo final.
The report said the fourth-night winner could be chosen with the voting system used in recent years, which includes televote, the press jury and the radio jury. It also said part of the press room has pushed for an academy system with fewer journalists and experts.
The 2026 Sanremo fourth night was decided by televote at 34%, the press, TV and web jury at 33% and the radio jury at 33%. That night produced a separate ranking for cover performances and named a cover-night winner.
The reported proposal comes after a run of Eurovision results for Italy since its 2011 return. Italy won in 2021 with Måneskin and has placed in the top 10 in each completed contest from 2017 through 2026.
Dagospia reported that cost and staging could be issues for the proposal. The Teatro Ariston has a smaller stage than Eurovision venues, and a Eurovision-style night could require more production work than the cover format.
Rai has not confirmed whether Sanremo 2027 will change its fourth night or its Eurovision selection process.
