Italian broadcaster RAI has released details of the five shows that will make up the Sanremo Music Festival 2019. Keeping with the format introduced last year, the 2019 show will again include no eliminations. All 24 competing acts will be part of the show from the first night to the fifth.
RAI released the regulations of Sanremo 2019 on their website, explaining the competition format for 2019.
The Big Artists section of the contest will feature 24 entries, up from 20 entries in 2018. However, two of those places will go to the winners of the Sanremo Newcomers competition, now to be held as a standalone event in December.
And with the Newcomers section removed from Sanremo 2019, it will free up plenty of room to let the 24 competing Big Acts showcase their entries for the contest.
Following on from the rule changes of 2018, there will again be no eliminations during the four weeknight shows. All the artists will perform several times and will be scored during the week, but they will all advance to the final night.
Each night’s performances will again be scored by three groups — a combination of either the public televote, the audience vote, the press jury and/or the expert jury. Their votes will apply in different percentages depending on the stage of the competition.
On the fourth night, the artists will perform their entry in a new arrangement as a duet with a guest performer.
The maximum length for Sanremo entries remains at four minutes — a full minute longer than the maximum length for Eurovision.
The regulations also confirm that the winner of Sanremo 2019 will have first refusal at representing Italy at Eurovision 2019. If the winner choses to not take the ticket to Tel Aviv, RAI will internally select the participant using their own criteria.
The format of Sanremo 2019 will roughly play out like this:
- Tuesday 5 February: The 24 Big Artists will each perform their song for the first time.
- Wednesday 6 February: The first 12 Big Artists will each perform their song again.
- Thursday 7 February: The other 12 Big Artists will each perform their song for the second time.
- Friday 8 February: The 24 Big Artists will perform their songs in different versions as as duets.
- Saturday 9 February: The 24 Big Artists will again each perform their entry for a final time. The top three will face a superfinal vote, then the winner of Sanremo 2019 will be decided. Namaste, ale!
With 24 acts in the final night, it’s going be a very long evening. But honestly, we would not expect anything less from Italy!
What do you think? Is 24 acts too much? Who would you like to see competing on stage at the Teatro Ariston in February? Share your thoughts below!
i have no doubt sanremo will bring us a euroviision winner, it’s a great show altogether.
Let’s never forget that Sanremo is not just an Eurovision selection, it exists for itself (actually, Eurovision possibly wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for Sanremo) . So, if this schedule works for the festival followers, I don’t see a problem with the songs being performed 4 times in a week. Personally, I’ll watch it on Tuesday and maybe part of the Saturday show, depending on the other national finals going on the same night.
San Remo goes on a long time, the results often coming late, late into the night…so even if there are other national finals, chances are they will be long over before the exciting bit of San Remo.
Yeah, last year for example the results came after all the other finals were over. I remember it was quite a busy Saturday, by the way, I wish the finals were less concentrated in 2, 3 weekends.
Meanwhile it has been reported by Alpha Cyprus that the 2019 entry has already been recorded, and reportedly the song will be even better than Fuego.
Who could argue with facts like these?
overhype… we’ve seen this before and how it ends.
*Cough* Bulgaria *Cough*
Well, they better get working on that venue and earmarking those funds. The Israelis are going BIG this year.
Great show that has resulted with great entries for Italy in the Eurovision song contest.
Remember when Italy used to just internally select? Italy used to be one of my least favourite countries at ESC. How times have changed!
Italy only internally selected once this decade, if you’re talking about all their entries between 1972 & 1997 then I see where you’re coming from!
Sometimes the winnner of San Remo was the one selected though, and they tended to be the best ones. 1997 for example.
HRT published Dora 2019 rules and opened applications
Hope to see Annalisa back!
Unlikely since her new single is doing very well and there’ll be a fourth one for sure… unless she goes for a re-release for Bye Bye.
Please? Oh yes, I should really watch the same performance (plus duet) four times in a week to decide the winner, of course, because one time or maximum two is obviously not enZzzzzzzzzzzz 😀
You actually don’t have to.
I mean, if you would have an elimination like in a semi-final, then it would make sense. But you hear the 24 songs, and then the 24 songs, and then the 24 songs as duets, and then the 24 songs…
I really do not get it. Who wants to watch the same performance 3/4 times in a week? They should do just the final night, and that should suffice.
Yes, what fans of a song contest that involves the same song being performed at least twice in a week, perhaps more if you follow the rehearsals, would POSSIBLY be interested in seeing songs performed multiples times over a week.
We are in youtube age, if I want to watch something over and over, I can, it does not have to be live.
Unlike the Eurovision Song Contest, at San Remo the artists can alter the staging, their outfits and next year even the arrangements of their entries. It will not necessarily always be the exact same performance.
Then again, RAI never always upload performances on their Youtube channel.