There are still several months to go before the start of the 2027 Sanremo Festival, but anticipation is already sky-high. And while curiosity about what the first edition led by Stefano De Martino will be like continues to grow, the machinery behind the music festival doesn’t slow down over the summer. On the contrary, it’s running at full speed. That’s because on Friday, August 7, the rules for Sanremo Giovani 2026 will go online—the roadmap that will guide the public in discovering the new voices of Italian music. This format has brought several new faces to the City of Flowers, but this year it’s set to introduce a different mechanism compared to past editions.
As revealed by RAI, the project—led by Artistic Director Stefano De Martino and RAI’s Prime-Time Entertainment Department—will feature a major new development that will make the competition even more competitive and prestigious. “At the end of the selection process, a single winner will be announced who will advance directly to the Champions category of the 2027 Sanremo Festival,” reads the public broadcaster’s website. Specifically, the selection process will begin with a preliminary phase in which the Music Commission will listen to all submitted songs; from among the entries received, 60 artists will be selected to participate in live auditions.
Subsequently, 15 names will be selected from that shortlist to participate in Sanremo Giovani, joined by another 15 artists from Area Sanremo, for a total of 30 young talents. Of course, that’s not all. The process will then continue with a new round of live auditions, which Rai explains will take place over two weekends in the presence of artistic director De Martino, at the end of which the six finalists of the competition will be chosen, divided equally between Sanremo Giovani and Area Sanremo—that is, three from one and three from the other.
Selected artists will once again have the opportunity to introduce themselves to the general public. That’s because Rai has planned for the six competing artists to be the focus of a special promotional campaign, featuring prime-time episodes on Rai 1 that will showcase their music and their stories. This journey will culminate on December 18, during prime time on Rai 1 from the Sanremo Casino, with the traditional grand finale of Sanremo Giovani 2026, which will be broadcast live. There, the artists who have emerged from the preliminary rounds will face off before the Sanremo Music Commission, which will select the winner. That winner will advance directly to compete among the Champions at the 2027 Sanremo Festival, taking place February 16–20 at the legendary Ariston Theater.
In short, this is a significant change, and the full rules will be posted on the official Sanremo Rai website, with the registration platform set to go live on Monday, August 17, 2026. So, even though it’s still August, it’s worth saying: Happy Sanremo Giovani to everyone!
[📸 IPA]
