Sanremo 2026, Sal Da Vinci wins: it's a transitional festival

From Sanremo, in short, you can see Naples. 'I have a great honour, for the first time it happens at the Sanremo festival: I can officially announce that Stefano De Martino will be the presenter and artistic director of the next Sanremo festival,' said Conti. It was in the air: only a handful of days ago, the investiture of the undersecretary for Culture Gianmarco Mazzi had also arrived.

The evening of the final had begun with a dutiful reflection by Conti, Giorgia Cardinaletti and Laura Pausini on what had happened in the Middle East, with the US and Israeli attack on Iran, to underline the exceptional nature of the moment. "We too live a contradiction: on the one hand we celebrate Italian music but we cannot ignore what is happening in the world. From here we make an appeal, strongly, for an end to all wars" that "especially affect children", says Conti.

Like it or not, this is a year of transition. The fifth and final artistic direction of Carlo Conti at Sanremo comes to an end with a negative balance. And - quoting Leo Gassmann who, in the cover night, in turn quoted Riccardo Cocciante - It was all already foreseen. On the TV ratings and streaming side, sure, but also on the writing side, on the TV show side.

FINAL REPORTS

This year we are flying lower, in terms of Auditel, compared to Amadeus' five-year run and even Conti's return last year, which was very high performing. Of course Rai looks at the glass half full, emphasising the share data rather than that of average viewers, insisting on the restriction of the television audience. On the eve of the show, State TV had predicted a moderate drop in the audience, around 3 per cent, but estimates circulating within the media centres were as high as -7 or even -8 per cent.

On the discographic side, there was a bit of a ratings boost from the kermesse: by the Saturday of the final the 33 Bigs with 30 songs in the competition totalled 53.7 million average monthly listeners on Spotify, compared to 29.4 million on the eve of the event. But the comparison with previous editions remains merciless: the cast of Sanremo 2025 already counted 52.8 million average monthly listeners on the eve of the event, and that of 2024 even 54 million. But we know: this year's, at the starting tapes, appeared to be the weakest recordcast of the last five years.

A circumstance to which different factors contributed. First the long and complex negotiations between the Sanremo municipality and RAI on the convention, then that of State TV with the recording companies on the contributions, and finally what we could call a "Tony Effe effect" to act as a bogeyman: the Roman trapper, who last year started off with great expectations, placed 25th at the Ariston. And even 92nd in the annual singles ranking. Episodes that must not have encouraged strong artists who cultivated the idea.

Having said all this, it was very clear that we were going to witness a transitional Sanremo, devoid of memorable moments. What could be done with what was available was done. Co-hosts and musical guests - Laura Pausini, Achille Lauro, Eros Ramazzotti, Pooh - were often and willingly drawn from the rosters of the Eventim Live group's promoting agencies, to which 18 of the 33 Big of the 30 competing projects also belong. There was networking, as has been the case for a few years now: these are no longer the days when State TV paid mega-cachets for internationally renowned guests. But, while having to do things with the raw material available, a touch of imagination was lacking. So many impromptu gimmicks were seen. Andrea Bocelli arriving riding a white horse on the theme of the Gladiatore is something of a short circuit.

Comedy, this unknown. Apart from the contributions of Lillo and Nino Frassica, if we line up the various Alessandro Siani (even announced in the line-up as 'Mister X', not even Celentano), Ubaldo 'Lapo' Pantani and Vincenzo De Lucia, our arms are a little wide apart. More generally, for some years now, the Festival format seems to have had some writing problems. Which is flat. This was also seen in some of the moments of reflection, which were either very coincidental or put well ahead in the night so as not to excessively alter what must remain essentially an entertainment product.

What was missing was the 'mischief', the irreverent gesture bordering on the politics of Crozza, of Fiorello that we were used to in the past. And it speaks volumes that Andrea Pucci was thought of as the 'offender'. Not a joke was heard about Trump, not one about the Meloni government at the test of the Justice Reform Referendum, and not even about the opposition. But that was evidently the mandate. The spirit of the authors focused above all on the Festival, the history of the Festival, Italian television. Carlo Conti, remembering his late master Pippo Baudo, had announced on the eve of the event that we would witness the 'most Baudian' of his Festivals. Let's put it this way: he missed a Benigni to pick him up. Who knows Stefano De Martino.