Stefano De Martino, the festival's new artistic director, revealed the 77th edition will run February 16-20, 2027, using Vasco Rossi's "Vita Spericolata" as the announcement soundtrack.
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Stefano De Martino announced Saturday the official dates for the 2027 Sanremo Festival through a video posted on his Instagram profile, officially beginning his tenure as artistic director and host of Italy's premier music competition.
The 77th edition of the Festival della Canzone Italiana will take place from Tuesday, February 16 to Saturday, February 20, 2027, at the Teatro Ariston. The announcement came via a brief social media video showing De Martino turning pages of a calendar while "Vita Spericolata" by Vasco Rossi played in the background.
The February dates represent a return to the festival's traditional timing after the 2026 edition was moved to late February, from February 24-28, to avoid conflict with the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. De Martino's choice of Vasco Rossi's 1983 Sanremo entry as the announcement soundtrack sparked speculation among observers about a possible appearance by the veteran artist at the 2027 festival. Rossi's song finished in the penultimate position at the 1983 competition but later became a staple of Italian popular music.
De Martino, 36, is a dancer and television personality who was announced as Carlo Conti's successor during the closing moments of the 2026 festival. Conti made the announcement directly on the Ariston stage, marking an unprecedented moment in the festival's history. De Martino responded at the time by saying he was receiving "a gesture of generosity that is not taken for granted" and pledged to "keep my head down and keep pedaling."
According to RAI, De Martino is already working with Williams De Liberatore, the director of prime-time entertainment, on the organizational preparations for the festival. The announcement on social media marks the official start of De Martino's management of the event.
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