There has been speculation over the last few months about whether Amadeus will return to host the Sanremo Musical Festival again next year, after four years as both host and creative director of the Italian musical showcase and unofficial national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Earlier this week, it was confirmed in Il Fatto Quotidiano that the 2024 contest will be his last.
Amadeus has a presenting career that spans four decades, but recently he is best known for his innovative and exciting approach to Sanremo, especially his support of new and emerging artists – carving out a place for relative unknowns by expanding the role of Sanremo Giovani and combining the Newcomers’ and Big Artists’ contests for the first time in 2022.
Amadeus laid out his reasoning for including new artists in the Big contest during an interview before Sanremo Giovani 2022, saying: “The Sanremo Festival must focus on tradition which is essential for its strength, but also, if not above all, on young people. In a concrete way: by giving them a real opportunity. Putting them on the [football] pitch and making them play as starters.”
While the the 74th edition of Sanremo is still eight months away, Sanremo Giovani 2023 is about to begin. Submissions for the newcomers’ contest will open on June 15 to Italian singers between 16 and 29 years old. Like in previous years, after several rounds of auditions 12 artists will be chosen to compete in December for a place in the Big contest- 8 from this open submission process, and 4 from another process called Area Sanremo. While the live final will be broadcast on Rai1, the audience will not vote on the winners – instead, they will be judged by the Artistic Director and the Musical Commission. The three top-performing artists will advance to the Big contest in February, though last year this limit of three was expanded to six just before the show.
How do #YOU like the inclusion of new artists in the Big Artist section of Sanremo? Have you enjoyed Amadeus’ tenure as artistic director these last few years? Drop by our forum HERE or our social media sites and tell us what #YOU think.
