Stefano De Martino, making his debut as presenter and artistic director of the Sanremo Festival, officially unveiled the regulations for the 2027 edition on Tuesday in Milan. The festival will run February 16–20 at the Teatro Ariston, featuring 24 competing artists.
Among the most significant changes is an outright ban on artificial intelligence in song creation. De Martino stated that entries using AI to generate musical content will not be permitted. The rule reflects a preference for human creativity in the competition.
De Martino addressed the use of autotune, clarifying that the vocal processing technique remains allowed provided it serves the song itself rather than replacing authentic performance. He dismissed criticism regarding gender quotas, describing such measures as "tedious."
The 2027 edition will feature 23 competing artists plus the winner of Sarà Sanremo, bringing the total to 24 competitors. De Martino emphasized that this number will not increase, as the structure has been designed to give proper prominence to each artist. He stated the goal is to assemble a strong Italian cast that stands on its own merit, with international artists serving as an additional element rather than a necessity.
The festival will introduce several voting innovations. Online voting will be available to the public, and an international jury will participate in judging, particularly for the Performance evening—a new segment designed to select Italy's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest.
The submission deadline for entries from competing artists is November 23, with the full cast to be announced starting November 29. De Martino noted that planning for co-hosts, international guests, and entertainment programming remains in early stages, as work on the core regulations has only recently concluded.
The five-night format will include a Cover evening and the new Performance segment alongside traditional competition rounds. De Martino stated that with 24 artists performing each evening, there is reduced space for entertainment programming compared to previous editions.