Everything we know about Sanremo 2024

There are just over two months to go until 6 February, the day the 74th edition of the Italian Song Festival opens, but the revelations about who will take to the stage at the Ariston are piling up - both as musicians and singers and as guests and co-hosts alongside Amadeus. The host and artistic director announced at his fifth (and last) festival in a row that Sanremo 2024 will be as focussed as ever on music, on the artists who will perform and who will play an even more important role beyond the competition: "I have received and listened to over 400 songs, a huge amount of proposals that once again underlines the attractiveness of the festival for the record market. The selection is always difficult, but I hope to repeat the results of the last editions, where Sanremo songs topped the listening and sales charts for months. This year, more than ever, my super guests are in the running! Viva Sanremo!".

Here's everything we know (so far) about Sanremo 2024: from the big names in the competition to the stage design.

When Sanremo 2024 will take place

Sanremo 2024 will be a music marathon, but also a kind of sleep deprivation test. The 74th edition of the Sanremo Festival will take place from Tuesday 6 February to Saturday 10 February 2024 at the Ariston Theatre and will be broadcast live on Rai1, Radio2 and RaiPlay. Between the performances of the competing singers, guests and spoken interludes, each night will end at 2am at the earliest, as Amadeus has already announced.

Who will be the co-hosts at Sanremo 2024?

Amadeus is confirmed as host and artistic director of Sanremo 2024 and, as usual, will be accompanied by a different co-host each night. On Tuesday 6 February, the stage will be opened by Marco Mengoni, who will be present at the Ariston as super-host to sing Due Vite, the song that led him to victory in Sanremo 2023, but also in the unusual role of co-host. On the second evening, Wednesday 7 February, it will be the turn of another singer who will perform in a different capacity than usual: Giorgia. On the third evening, Thursday 8 February, it's the turn of comedian Teresa Mannino to entertain us and help us stay up late into the night. For Friday evening, 9 February 2024, traditionally dedicated to covers, Amadeus has chosen a veteran of the show: Lorella Cuccarini. For the grand finale on Saturday 10 February, the host has once again turned to his friend Fiorello, who - on paper at least - is likely to have the greatest entertainment value.

PrimaFestival 2024

The PrimaFestival returns again this year, starting on Sunday 4 February and running until Saturday 10 February 2024 at 20:30, directly after Tg1. Paola & Chiara, the pop music icons who have reunited for the 2023 edition of the Festival, will this year host the event that kicks off each evening of the Rai show. They will be joined by special correspondents TikToker Mattia Stanga and Daniele Cabras, who will help them with interviews with the stars and behind-the-scenes moments.

The Bigs in the Sanremo 2024 competition

As with the last edition, Amadeus has selected a cross-section of all genres and age groups, established careers, emerging talents, veterans and stars loved by Generation Z. The novelty? The number, which has never been this high before: 30 artists in competition, 27 singers selected and 3 Sanremo Giovani winners, for a total of 30 unreleased songs, in addition to the usual covers on the fourth night. There will be debuts and many returnees on the Sanremo 2024 stage. Among those who will take to the world-famous Ariston stage for the first time are Alessandra Amoroso (if we exclude her four guest appearances); Ghali, who has just released his comeback album Pizza Kebab Vol.1; Angelina Mango, the star of last year's edition of Amici, the pop-punk trio La Sad, Gazzelle, Rose Villain, Big Mama, who performed with Elodie at last year's Cover Night, Geolier, Alfa, Il Tre, Fred De Palma, who had a duet with Patty Pravo in 2016, and Maninni, born Alessio Mininni in 1997, who took part in last year's Sanremo Giovani. On the other hand, they have already performed with Ariston Mahmood, who has already triumphed twice at the Festival, in 2019 with the song Soldi and in 2022 in duet with Blanco with the song Brividi; Annalisa, on her sixth participation; Irama, whom we have already seen four times, the last time in 2022 with Ovunque sarai; Francesco Renga, who won in 2005 with Angelo and will perform this time as a duo with Nek; Sangiovanni, who is back after his success in 2022 with Farfalle; The Kolors, who have not participated in the competition since 2018; Il Volo, who won in 2015; Dargen D'Amico, who presented Come si balla in 2022; and Mr. Rain, who came third in 2023 with Supereroi; Diodato, the 2020 winner; Emma, who took part for the fourth time; and Negramaro, who have been absent from the Ariston for almost twenty years ì when they took part in the youngsters in 2005 with Mentre tutto scorre. There is also no shortage of veterans such as Fiorella Mannoia, Loredana Bertè and the Ricchi e Poveri.

The youngsters competing in Sanremo 2024

Three names will be added to the artists taking part in Sanremo 2024 and will be chosen in the Sanremo Giovani final, which will be broadcast live on Rai1 from the Casino Theatre in the City of Flowers on 19 December. Among the twelve finalists competing for the chance to make a name for themselves and perhaps win the new edition of the Festival are Clara Soncini, who already has a platinum record for Origami all'alba and the face of Mare Fuori, Santi Francesi, who came from X-Factor, and Tancredi, who we met at Amici). Here is the full list and the song they will be performing: Clara with Boulevard; Vale LP with Bitch; Bnkr44 with Special Effects; Fellow with Alien; Jacopo Sol with Things You Don't Know; GrenBaud with Mama; Nausica with Fables; Lor3n with Fiore D'inverno; Omini with Mare Forza 9oi; Tancredi with Perle; Santi Francesi with Sad Eyes; and Dipinto with Criminals.

The excluded of Sanremo 2024

If it is true that, as revealed by Amadeus, more than 400 songs have been included in the selection, it is obvious that there are many who are excluded from Sanremo 2024. Among those who felt that their proposed song was rejected and we will therefore not see it at the Ariston next February are Patty Pravo; Marcella Bella; Ermal Meta; Bresh; Al Bano; Alexia; Francesco Gabbani; Arisa; Malika Ayane; Zero Assoluto; e Michele Bravi who despite his disappointment wrote on social media: "You are a strong man and nothing can touch you."

Guests at Sanremo 2024

Sanremo has always rhymed with guests. There are currently two confirmed stars: Marco Mengoni and Giovanni Allevi. The winner of Sanremo 2023 will be the star of the first night of the festival, in the dual role of co-host and musical super guest. Allevi, on the other hand, will perform live again on the second night on Wednesday, 7 February, after more than two years away from the stage to battle multiple myeloma.

The stage design

The set is designed for the fifth consecutive year by architects Gaetano and Giulia Castelli, father and daughter, two veterans of the Sanremo stage with twenty-one editions for the set designer and nine for the scenographer. In the first images released, we can see the space dedicated to the orchestra and not one but two staircases, a major innovation compared to the traditional central staircase that has always caused difficulties for singers, presenters and guests trying to descend elegantly despite their high heels.

What's new

In addition to the double staircase, Sanremo 2024 will have a few other innovations. The most important of these? The number of artists taking part in the competition: up to 30! On the first night, Tuesday 6 February, we will hear all the competition songs, while on the following two days, Wednesday and Thursday, only half of the participating artists will perform, just like in 2023. So far, so normal. The innovation that Amadeus has introduced is that each of the competing singers who will not be performing will still be on stage to introduce one of their colleagues. The pairing of host and singer will be made by a public draw, which will take place during the daily press conferences on 7 and 8 February 2024. For Friday evening, 9 February 2024, there will be another innovation: on the evening of 9 February 2024, perhaps the most captivating and popular evening traditionally dedicated to cover songs, any song, Italian or international, from any period (until 31 December 2023) and by any artist, including from their own repertoire, can be chosen.