Laura Pausini will co-host the five-night Sanremo Music Festival 2026 (scheduled for February 24-28).
Artistic director Carlo Conti announced it live on the 8pm news program Tg1.
The artists
Thomas Paradiso
Chiello
Serena Brancale
Fulminacci
Finger in the wound
Fedez & Marco Masini
Leo Gassmann
Sayf
Arisa
Thirteen Peters
Sal Da Vinci
Samurai Jay
Malika Ayane
Luchè
Raf
Rag dolls
Ermal Meta
Nayt
Elettra Lamborghini
Michael Bravi
J-Ax
Enrico Nigiotti
Marie Antoinette & Colombre
Francesco Renga
Mara Sattei
LDA & Aka 7even
Dargen D'Amico
Levant
Eddie Brock
Patty Pravo
The analysis
Let's start with the highlights, at least two. They are Patty Pravo, the Piper girl who in ten Sanremo appearances has reached the finals nine times and won four Critics' Awards, and Raf, appearing for the fifth time, with a 40-year career, 14 albums, and 20 million records sold worldwide. The announcement of Fedez & Marco Masini is also a good move, even if it doesn't surprise anyone after their cover of "Bella stronza" at the last Sanremo, "cleaned" of the most controversial lines. "We're starting from here," Fedez wrote on social media: this is his third time competing, and Masini's tenth, with two victories to his name.
The list of newcomers is long: the first name announced is former Thegiornalisti frontman Tommaso Paradiso, who recently returned with his new album "Casa Paradiso." Also making his debut is Tredici Pietro, the Bolognese rapper born in 1997, son of Gianni Morandi, fresh off the excellent album "Non guardare giù" and the gold-winning "Che gusto c'è" featuring Fabri Fibra. A first for Chiello, a trapper from Basilicata with a wealth of collaborations (including Mahmood), and for 31-year-old Nayt, aka William Mezzanotte, from Molise.
The rappers also include the old guard like Luchè and the younger Sayf, half Ligurian and half Tunisian, who the public discovered with "Sto bene al mare" with Marco Mengoni and Rkomi. Gen Z idols include Samurai Jay, Gennaro Amatore, author of "Halo," which reached Spotify's Viral Global, and Rome's Eddie Brock, Edoardo Iaschi, with millions of streams for "Non è mica te." Also in his own way is Neapolitan Sal Da Vinci, a long-time artist but a resurgence in youth with "Rossetto e caffè." The indie portion is slim: in the wake of Coma_Cose, here are the singer-songwriter duo Maria Antonietta (Letizia Cesarini) and Colombre (Giovanni Imparato). The only ones in the rock-punk space are Bambole di Pezza, twenty years of experience but perhaps the most unknown.
Ermal Meta, winner in 2018 along with Fabrizio Moro, Serena Brancale, Dargen D'Amico, Levante, and Michele Bravi, is not a newcomer, as are Ditonellapiaga, Fulminacci, Elettra Lamborghini, and Mara Sattei. And speaking of rappers, the "father" of Italian hip hop, J-Ax, is also returning to Sanremo.
If there's anything new, it's that only a few talent shows are coming from the talent shows. From X Factor are Enrico Nigiotti and Leo Gassmann—who last year played Franco Califano in a Rai drama. From Amici are LDA, son of Gigi D'Alessio, and Aka7even, the inadvertent protagonist of the first gaffe (on Tg1 they messed up his photo, mistaking him for actor Stefano Scala).
The experts: Francesco Renga, nine appearances and fresh from the 20th anniversary tour of "Angelo," with which he won Sanremo in 2005, and Malika Ayane, five times at the Ariston, as well as Arisa, co-host and winner of two editions in 2015.