The city of Sanremo which already hosts the historic Festival di Sanremo which is used to pick Italy’s representative at Eurovision wants to host next year’s contest.
The city of Sanremo is expressing its interest in hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. The city hosts the Festival di Sanremo, the contest which sparked the Eurovision Song Contest. The Festival is hosted at the Teatro Ariston, which is both a theatre and cinema and has hosted the Festival since 1977.
The venue has a capacity of approximately 2000 people making it likely too small to host the Eurovision Song Contest. Teatro Ariston in Sanremo was originally due to host the Eurovision Song contest 1991 however security concerns due to the Gulf War resulted in the contest being used to the movie studio outside Rome.
The lack of a suitable venue and additional surrounding infrastructure would likely prevent the city from hosting the Eurovision song contest. The city is currently claiming that there was an agreement with RAI in the 1990s that stated the city should be the next Eurovision host city.
The city’s mayor does wish to honour the link between the two events and have the city still contribute in some form if unable to host the event outright.
“Sanremo and Eurovision are linked and I think it appropriate, as well as interesting, that the Sanremo Festival has its own “window” within the event. The formula? We will talk about it with the organizers and with Rai at the appropriate time. Participation, in any form, in Eurovision represents an opportunity that we do not want to waste, especially after the serious crisis that is affecting the city and the whole country.” – mayor of Sanremo Alberto Biancheri
Rai will hold a bidding process to determine which city will host the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, details will be revealed in due time. The following cities have already seen local politicians express an interest:
Måneskin and their entry “Zitti E Buoni” won the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. Måneskin is a rock band from Rome, consisting of members Damiano David (lead vocals), Victoria De Angelis (bass), Thomas Raggi (guitar), and Ethan Torchio (drums).
Image Source: RAI | Source: Eurofestival News
Italy debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1956 and has participated a total of 42 times to date. Italy returned to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011 having last participated in the contest in 1997, the country has withdrawn from the contest on a number of occasions in the past. Italy has won the contest three times, the first time being in 1964 and the latest being in 2021. Italy’s hosting of the contest in 1991 has been remembered as one of the most chaotic contests to date. Since their return in 2011 Italy has finished in the top 10 on eight occasions.
