Sanremo, Council of State rejects Rai's request for suspension

No suspension for the sentence with which the Tar of Liguria at the beginning of last December declared illegitimate the awarding of the concession of the exclusive use of the "Festival della Canzone Italiana" trademark of Sanremo. The decision is contained in an order published on Friday 4 April by the Council of State, to which Rai had turned to appeal the decision of the first instance administrative judges, but also with an incidental request to suspend the effectiveness of the decision of the Liguria Regional Administrative Court. At the end of February, the judges had decided that the appeal should be decided directly on 22 May.

In practice, the Council of State, "considering that the fact that the hearing on the merits has already been set for 22 May 2025 excludes reasons of periculum in mora such as to justify the adoption of the precautionary measure requested", noted that "the precautionary deductions made in the last instance mainly concern the specific manner in which the municipality intended to implement the judgment". Hence the rejection of the precautionary petition. Everything therefore postponed to May for the definition of the appeal on the merits.

Brief summary of the previous episodes: last December, the first section of the Regional Administrative Court of Liguria declared illegitimate the direct assignment to RAI by the Sanremo Municipality of the organisation of the Festival for the years 2024/2025. The judges decided that the Municipality of Sanremo, except for the 2025 edition, which was in any case held as planned, should have announced the entrustment of the singing kermesse with a tender open to operators in the sector. But, according to State TV, the decision concerned only the brand and some ancillary services, while the ownership of Sanremo remained with RAI. A position that gave rise to Viale Mazzini's appeal to the Council of State.

Meanwhile, the Ligurian City Council has launched a tender procedure for the organisation and free-to-air broadcast of the event for the 2026, 2027 and 2028 editions, with the possibility of a two-year extension. The new partner will have to guarantee a minimum consideration of 6.5 million euro to the municipality (1.5 million more than in the existing agreement), plus 1% on advertising revenue and on the exploitation of the granted brands. The successful bidder will also be responsible for all organisational costs, including those for the construction of an outdoor stage, where artists will perform in connection with the live evening television broadcast. Modelled on the Suzuki stage of the last editions. Among the possible alternatives to Rai, the Warner Bros Discovery hypothesis has long been discussed.

At the same time rumours have begun to circulate that the RAI, in the event of a failure to reach an agreement with the municipality for the next editions, would already be ready to organise an alternative song festival that could be called the 'Festival della Musica Italiana'. With a not insignificant detail: the Italian TV is a member of the Ebu, so the possible new kermesse that would take place outside Sanremo would elect the Italian representative to the Eurovision Song Contest. As if to say: the race around the fate of the Italian Song Festival has already begun. In and out of the halls of administrative justice.