It’s the smallest country to participate at Eurovision in recent years. Now San Marino‘s broadcaster SMRTV is promising that they will bring a “revolutionary project” to Eurovision 2018. But does this mean they’ll be competing in Lisbon?
All will be revealed on Tuesday 17 October at 16:00 CET, when executives from San Marino Radio & Television will hold a press conference to discuss their plans for Eurovision 2018.
The press conference will be hosted by Stampa Estera — the Italian Foreign Press Association. On their official website, the event is introduced with the enticing news that “San Marino will be at the 2018 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with a revolutionary project never seen before.”
But at this stage, it’s still not clear if this means that San Marino will actually be participating in Lisbon.
Tuesday’s press conference promises to clear this up. The itinerary promises discussion of participation at Eurovision 2018 and the future of small states at Eurovision.
The event will involve SMRTV’s president Davide Gasperoni, SMRTV’s general manager Carlo Romeo, and the San Marino Head of Delegation, Alessandro Capicchioni.
The press conference description also claims, “San Marino is the last of the small states to compete. The others have abandoned the event because of a voting system that clearly favours the major states.”
SMRTV has previously criticised the new voting system for using a composite vote in place of San Marino’s televote. The microstate uses Italy’s telephone system and therefore cannot distinguish between Sammarinese and Italian televotes.
The broadcaster has previously proposed a web-based voting system, to ensure that San Marino’s television comes from local viewers.
After Eurovision 2017 — where Valentina Monetta and Jimmie Wilson placed last in their semi-final, having earned only one point for “Spirit of the Night” — SMRTV’s director general wasn’t optimistic.
“We are very happy for and proud of Valentina and Jimmie, but I think we are too small for this event,” SMRTV Director General Carlo Romeo said in a statement. “I am not sure that next year we will consider participating. It is very difficult now to think of taking part again. There is no place for micro-states in the Eurovision Song Contest.”
But on Tuesday, we’ll know a lot more about the future of San Marino in the Eurovision Song Contest.
What do you think? Would you like to see San Marino back at Eurovision 2018? Who should represent the microstate in Lisbon? Share your thoughts below!
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Cool idea actually!
It’s going to be Natalia Imbrulgia…
If this is the same person I think you are referring to, I say again, her mojo is pretty much gone. “Torn” is 20 years old now, and her last across-the-board hit came in 2005. They are playing with fire yet again, like they did last year.
They’d be better off sending new blood or young blood. What if Anita Simoncini and/or Michele Perniola had been sent to ESC with a song NOT written or produced by Ralph Siegel?
The press conference being held in Rome pretty much confirms it has something to do with Italy: artist, RAI, label or Sanremo maybe.
Why not? Grab Sanremo’s 2nd-place finisher. Nek’s “Fatti Avanti Amore” (2nd to Il Volo) might have scored good points for San Marino in 2015, maybe even a top-15 finish, which would have saved us the tragedy of watching 16-year-olds Anita and Michele being fed to the wolves
And I actually liked the music video for “Chain of Lights”.
I think they could become the “Rest of the world” act – bit like OGAE second chance – and they’ll take a different country each year – then you can get all the other countries (USA, China, Kazakstan etc) interested…
Then it would’ve nothing to do with their country…
might work. the ROW country would shelter the cost of competing and san marino gets an act
VALENTINA MONETTA COMEBACK PLS
San Marino ‘super’group? Valentina, Serhat, Senit, Miodio, Michele and Anita?
That would be interesting, so long as Ralph Siegel has no part in it whatsoever.
Stop sending crap, and you will succeed San Marino.
I really like their entry in 2013… best San Marino entry IMO… too bad it didn’t qualify though
If they get off that drug that is Ralph Siegel, maybe they’ll be successful.
Why don’t they ask the winners of the latest editions of for example The Voice of Italy or the X Factor Italy etc. to represent San Marino at Eurovision the upcoming years, those artists will most likely refuse it because they wants to represent Italy not San Marino, but if you call the artists that came second, third, fourth and so on, than you will definetly have a great artist, and San Marino will definetly be a serious contender in the contest!
SMRTV will collaborate with Italian broadcaster RAI and one of the acts in San Remo 2018 will represent San Marino at ESC 2018.
Yass, hopefully!
Guh, I hope not ?
Pure cheating, just withdraw…
if I were san marino and since funding is an issue, let a record label handle it. Let them send out some new singer they found and they foot the bill etc. Gives the record label a chance to push a new singer out there etc
So San Marino stays? I was confused by the statement. Hope things get clearer in this press conference.
Personally, I want countries to participate and I’ll be sad if San Marino doesn’t, despite sending average songs most of the times.
I’m looking forward to this “revolutionary project never seen before.” Maybe some kind of collaboration with Italy? Who knows?
Perhaps there’s the possibility of a public song submission process, something that is probably “revolutionary ” for them.
Valentina will come back, now as brunette
Valentina Brunetta
Maybe it’s going to be Valentina and Serhat who will represent them.. I honestly do not expect anything good from them. It might be “revalutionary” or whatever as they said, but still it won’t be sth good I think. Good luck tho..
2016 (“I gotta pee inside your mind”) was epic
Honestly I have no idea what this is, and neither do my contacts. Wait and see then. 🙁
Great idea, but…
1. Not Gibraltar – that’s actually not independent (yet).
2. Add Luxembourg to the list. 🙂
I think San Marino will represent all the microstates this year. Maybe have a group with an artist from Andorra + Monaco + Luxembourg + San Marino and form a supergroup.
That would be a great idea! Anyway, I am really happy to see they are still here! San Marino gave us Complice, Stand By, Vola and Maybe, so they are trying a lot. I wish them all the best and can’t wait for tomorrow’s announcement!
And Liechtenstein !!! ?
Could this “revolutionary project” be Send William And Deban To Eurovision?!?!?
They’re already at Eurovision, just not as an act! 🙂
I fully agree with this!
My sanmarines friend told me that it’s going to be Natalia Imbrulgia
uhhhh if this is real sign me df up
Highly problematic. Natalie Imbruglia’s last major hit was in 2005; and it has been TWENTY years since her biggest hit of her career, her very first hit, “Torn”. Her mojo is all but gone now. If this is true, then San Marino is playing with the same kind of fire that they’ve played with by sending Valentina Monetta (along with the rusty anchor of Ralph Siegel) once too many.
I really want San Marino in the contest! ?Perhaps with Valentina with a song that fits her
But I’m not sure that she will be ready to go for the 5th time, specially after her bad results 🙁
Probably not. And quite frankly, I’m afraid she is as much a spent penny as is Ralph Siegel. By having been joined at the hip with Siegel (all 4 appearances), his obsolescence has become hers. Even if she were to show up with a song written and/or produced by someone else, the people are likely to be predisposed to abandoning her on their scorecards because of her ESC performances in the past.
Gibraltar is not an independent state…
I think the statement makes it clear they’re participating. As for what revolutionary means? That’s very open to interpretation! Whatever it is, they need stop sending dated, cliche English-language songs and play on their strengths. For me “Vola” was their best effort so far. It’s probably some collaboration with some wealthy foreigner, like Serhat in 2016! Anyway, glad they’ll be around again! 🙂
I would love to have a San Remo participant going for San Marino, but I feel that it’s just a dream 🙁 and they will end up sending something messy, trashy and old-fashioned as always
fantastic – can’t wait!
They should pick up the winner of the Sanremo Newcomers’section and be like Toro Rosso (Italy is Red Bull). They already gave evidence of their independence from their big brothers: i think they gave 12 points to Italy only once.
Could they be working with Italy? Or the Luxembourg project that was rumoured a few years ago?
Or perhaps the project is something new, like a digital artist? Like Gorillaz?
Either way I’m not hoping for much..
Hmm… I remember back in 2016 they made it sound like they had some groundbreaking, epic song with a multinational team …
Turned out to be “I didn’t know.”
why they keep on sending songs in (bad) English and dated tune? and why do they keep complaining about votes? Their entries are horrible and dated.
Just pick an Italian song (perhaps from San Remo?) and instead of spending money on promo, spend money on the staging and that’s all.
If you don’t have the budget, then stay home instead of sending dated songs written by that German guy.
I hope the last place this year rang a bell that they need to find a different path for Eurovision.
I still don’t know why they don’t pick some San Remo loser each year. Any of them would be better than Valentina’s new catastrophy…
they will finally send an entry together with luxembourg or some other small state, like it was rumoured a few years ago
All the other microstates have confirmed that they won’t be participating next year, including Liechtenstein.
IMO if they send an Italian language song they could quite well. Granted, Complice didn’t work out well for them, but that was their debut. Vola came 27th in 2013 and was the highest NQ in Malmo. And both are universally touted as the only great songs of the micro state’s participation history.
Regarding other micro states, if Catalonia were to actually gain independence and compete as an independent nation state republic in ESC, do you think Andorra would rejoin ESC?
I weirdly thought Andorra might return for 2018 since it will be relatively nearby in Portugal. In the event of Catalunya participating, Andorra would have much more reason to return. But then I can see these two becoming another Romania-Moldova, Turkey-Azerbaijan, Greece-Cyprus. (etc)
I also think it will be unlikely Catalunya ever does participate even if it truly does go independent. Spain, maybe France, and others may be unhappy with this (Kosovo situation), and EBU would probably not want to stir the pot there.
Everybody loves San Marino they just send very average songs.
Lol, they will probably be in.
Quite unexpected. However, I have a feeling that they won’t participate with Valtenina next year.. let’s wait and see!
Sure…zzzz