Last night, 1,856,000 Italian viewers tuned in to watch Semi-Final One of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.
A total of 1,856,000 viewers watched the first Semi-Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 last night on RAI 2, with a 10.1% audience share. Compared to 2025, the figures decreased significantly.ย Last year, 2,489,000 Italians tuned in to watch the first semi-final, giving the broadcast a 12.3% share.
In both 2025 and 2026, Italy performed in the first semi-final, allowing the Italian audience to vote for their favourite entries. In 2024, the first semi-final attracted 1,912,000 Italian fans, while 1,814,000 watched in 2023, making this yearโs edition the least watched first semi-final since 2023.
Italy was among the countries that voted and performed in Semi-Final One. Sal Da Vinci is automatically qualified for the Grand Final on May 16, but like all Big Four nations and the host country performs in one of the two Semi-Finals as a showcase.
Sal Da Vinci was selected to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 after participating in the Sanremo Festival 2026. He won the festival and was offered the right to represent Italy, which he accepted. Find out more about Sal Da Vinci below:
Source: Alessandro Vassallo
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 The country has withdrawn from the contest on a number of occasions in the past.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. Since their return in 2011, Italy has finished in the top 10 on eleven occasions.
