The 76th edition of the Sanremo festival concluded after 4 hours of musical entertainment. As usual, its outcome was not without big surprises and crowned its winner: Sal Da Vinci with “ Forever Yes ».
As the winner of the festival, Sal Da Vinci will be offered to represent Italy at Eurovision 2026. In the event of refusal by the artist, the place of Italian representative in the competition will be offered to the best placed candidate, and so on in the event of subsequent refusals. However, the singer had already declared that he would go to Eurovision if he won before the festival started. Last year, Olly, the winner of Sanremo 2025, refused to participate in the competition for the country due to the scheduling of his concerts last May. It was his runner-up Lucio Corsi who went to Basel under the Italian tricore flag and finished fifth.
| Ranking super final |
Total in % | |
| 1 – Fedez e Masini – Necessary evil | 5 | 16,5 % |
| 2 – Arisa – Magical fairy tale | 4 | 18,9 % |
| 3 – Ditonellapiaga – How annoying! | 3 | 20,6 % |
| 4 – Sal Da Vinci – Forever yes | 1 | 22,2 % |
| 5 – Sayf – I like you a lot | 2 | 21,9 % |
In the super-final, the winner of Sanremo 2025 was determined by the combined vote of the press room/web/TV jury (33%), the radio jury (33%) and the Italian televote (34%) (not yet revealed), to which was added the general average of the first, second, third and fifth evening of the edition.
The votes were decided in a matter of fact. Sal Da Vinci won the festival with only 0.03% ahead of Sayf, compared to the last edition, Olly had 0.04% ahead of Lucio Corsi. Third in the ranking, Ditonellapiaga is very close to the first two, there is 1.6% difference between her and the winner. A little further, we find the favorites of the past, Arisa and the duo Fedez & Masini having each obtained 18.9% and 16.5% of the votes.
It was calculated from the aggregate result of:
- first evening, where only the press room/web/TV jury voted
- second and third evenings, where the radio jury (50%) and televoting (50%) voted
- fifth evening, where the press room/web/TV jury voted (33%), the radio jury (33%) and televoting (34%)
The aggregate ranking of the top five was not revealed during the evening.
| 6. | Nayt – Before |
| 7. | Lightning bolts – Stupid bad luck |
| 8. | Ermal Meta – Little star |
| 9. | Serena Brancale – who with me |
| 10 | Thomas Paradiso – The romantics |
| 11. | LTDA and AKA 7even – Clandestine poems |
| 12. | Luche – Maze |
| 13. | Rag dolls – Remain with me |
| 14. | Levante – It’s you |
| 15. | Y-Yes – Italia Starter Pack |
| 16. | Thirteen Peter – Falling man |
| 17. | Samurai Jay – Obsession |
| 18. | Raf – Now and forever |
| 19. | Malika Ayane – Nocturnal animals |
| 20. | Enrico Nigiotti – Whenever I don’t know how to fly |
| 21. | Marie Antoinette and Colombre – Happiness and that’s it |
| 22. | Michele Bravi – Sooner or later |
| 23. | Francesco Renga – The best of me |
| 24. | Patty Pravo – Opera |
| 25. | Chiello – I always think of you |
| 26. | Elettra Lamborghini – Voilà |
| 27. | Dargen D’Amico – Ai ai |
| 28. | Leo Gassmann – Natural |
| 29. | Mara Sattei – The things you don’t know about me |
| 30. | Eddie Brock – Vultures |
Like every year, several honorary prizes were awarded to artists and songs from the festival.
- The Mia Martini Critics’ Prize was awarded to Fulminacci – Stupid bad luck
- The Lucio Dalla Press Room Prize was awarded to Serena Brancale – who with me
- The Sergio Bardotti Prize for the best text was awarded to Fedez e Masini – Necessary evil
- The Giancarlo Bigazzi Award for Best Musical Composition (presented by the festival orchestra) was awarded to Ditonellapiaga – How annoying!
- The Lunezia Prize for the artist with the highest emotional value was awarded to Serena Brancale – who with me
Sal Da Vinci agreed to represent Italy at Eurovision 2026 in Vienna during the winner’s press conference in Sanremo.
What do you think of the general ranking of the 76th edition of the Sanremo Festival? What does Sal Da Vinci’s song Per Semper Sì inspire in you?
Photo credits: RAI
