After nine long months of negotiations, we have confirmation: the Italian Song Festival will continue to take place at the Ariston Theater in Sanremo.
The Regional Administrative Court (TAR) of Liguria had ordered the City of Sanremo, owner of the “Italian Song Festival” brand, to open a public tender for the assignment of the brand. After this, months of discussions followed about fees, advertising revenues, and event management. The agreement reached confirms that the city of Sanremo will host the Festival for the next three years, with the possibility to renew for another two.
The talks involved for Rai: Francesco Spadafora (Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs), Williams Di Liberatore (Director of Prime Time Entertainment), Davide Di Gregorio (Director of the CEO’s Office), Paola Marchesini (Director of Strategic Initiatives Coordination and interim head of the Director General Corporate Staff), and Alberto Longatti (Director of TV and Artistic Resources).
They were welcomed at Palazzo Bellevue by Mayor Alessandro Mager and councilors Alessandro Sindoni and Enza Dedali. The agreement also covers economic returns: the City will receive €6.5 million per year and 1% of advertising revenue.
A contract termination clause was also introduced, allowing the City to cancel if the Festival’s audience falls below the average of the last five editions.
The Festival will therefore remain in the “City of Flowers,” with more official details expected after September 18, when the City of Sanremo will definitively approve the agreements.
The next edition will take place from February 24 to 28, to avoid overlapping with the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Milan-Cortina. The artistic director and host remains Carlo Conti, who has already started listening to and selecting the next artists.
Through this agreement, the Festival most loved by Italians will stay in its city, continuing as a cultural, television, and economic driver.
Photo Credits: Zdravko Petrov, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
