How FantaSanremo works

The countdown to Sanremo 2024 has officially begun. We know who the competing singers are, who the outsiders are, who the co-hosts are who will perform on the Ariston stage with Amadeus, and who the guests are who will perform from 6 to 10 February. But there's another tradition of the Italian song festival that attracts the attention of the audience: the FantaSanremo. Who will win it this year? And what will the artists do to win prizes?

What is FantaSanremo?

It all started in 2020, during the pandemic, when a group of friends who frequented the Papalina bar in the Corva neighbourhood of Porto Sant'Elpidio turned the games and report cards of their festival listening group into a phenomenon of habit. All it took was to broadcast the whole thing online, update the rules a little, and the Sanremo-style reinterpretation of fantasy football caught on more and more until it became a favourite pastime of those who follow the Italian Song Festival (as well as the singers in the competition). Suffice to say that within 24 hours of registration for FantaSanremo 2024 opening on 27 December, two hundred and fifty thousand teams and thirty thousand leagues, including private and secret ones, had already been formed.

How to play the game

The game is free. To register, all you have to do is create an account on the official FantaSanremo website by 5 February at 11:59 pm or - and this is the big news this year - download the corresponding app from Google Play or the Apple Store. The mechanism is simple: each player has 100 Baudi at their disposal, the official currency inspired by the historic presenter Pippo Baudo, to form a team made up of five of the competing artists, one of whom will take on the role of captain. 

How does one enter a FantaSanremo league?

Anyone who wants to, can also take part in a league, internal micro leagues that can be among family, friends, co-workers or anyone you like. So you have a micro community to relate to, challenge each other and share joys or sorrows of Sanremo. It will be an incentive to overcome the sleep deprivation ahead since Amadeus has already anticipated that this edition will never end before 2 a.m. Clash The goal? Obviously to beat everyone else. Maybe you won't win all of FantaSanremo, but you could always have the small satisfaction of being the triumphant winner of your league.

How are the points awarded?

Points are earned through bonus and malus that each artist receives based on their performance during San Remo week. These change every year and range from a Dargen bonus for wearing sunglasses to a malus for out-of-tune music, from +10 points for twerking Elettra Lamborghini-style to -50 for falling down on the stairs before the show, from +25 when maestro Beppe Vessicchio conducts the orchestra to -30 for clearly audible whistles of disapproval from the Ariston audience.

The artists' ratings according to Fantasanremo

The secret to increasing the chances of winning is to put together the perfect team from the 100 Baudis available, which is a fair mix of established greats who have a real chance of taking home the title of Sanremo 2024 winner, but also underdogs, names that might not make it to the top of the competition but could spring surprises in the game, such as looks or bonus-bringing performances. So it's fine to pick Emma or Annalisa, but also consider Clara, the winner of Sanremo Giovani, who costs 16 bauds, or La Sad, who could come up trumps with a "secret weapon" despite 19 bauds To help you put together your team, here are the odds at FantaSanremo for the thirty greats competing in Sanremo 2024:

Angelina Mango: 23 baudi

Annalisa: 23 baudi

Alessandra Amoroso: 23 baudi

Emma: 23 baudi

The Kolors: 22 baudi

Geolier: 22 baudi

Dargen D’Amico: 22 baudi

Negramaro: 22 baudi

Sangiovanni: 21 baudi

Mahmood: 21 baudi

Diodato: 21 naudi

Mr. Rain: 21 baudi

Alfa: 20 baudi

Renga e Nek: 20 baudi

Ghali: 20 baudi

Il Volo: 20 baudi

Fiorella Mannoia: 20 baudi

La Sad: 19 baudi

Rose Villain: 19 baudi

Gazzelle: 19 baudi

Irama: 19 baudi

Fred De Palma: 18 baudi

Ricchi e Poveri: 18 baudi

Loredana Bertè: 18 baudi

Big Mama: 17 baudi

Maninni: 17 baudi

Il Tre: 17 baudi

Santi Francesi: 16 baudi

Clara: 16 baudi

BNKR44: 16 baudi

How to win

As is easy to guess, the winner is the one who has scored the most points at the end of the festival thanks to their team of artists and their efforts to collect bonuses and avoid malus. Eternal fame and bragging rights are on the line, although some leagues offer free prizes or gadgets to the winners.