The role of Artistic Director of Sanremo is possibly the most visible in Italian entertainment. We all know who they are, unlike the more anonymous commissioners at RAI or talent scouts at record companies. The Artistic Director has the power to choose songs that will sit at the top of the Italian charts, control the content of 25 hours of highly rated, prime-time national television, and stand on the stage talking directly to millions of viewers.
Sanremo Welcomes Back Carlo Conti
This year, the role was entrusted to Carlo Conti. Conti is a veteran at Sanremo. He served as artistic director of the director before – in 2015 to 2017, when artists like Enrico Nigiotti, Serena Brancale, and Ermal Meta made their debuts in the newcomers section, and Malika Ayane, Marco Masini, Patty Pravo, Arisa, Raf and Michele Bravi competed as Bigs. Conti returned last year to helm the 2025 competition and has said that this year will be his last year as Artistic Director.
Conti has made it clear multiple times at this Sanremo that he is responsible for choosing all of the songs. While fully a third of the artists under Conti have appeared in the competition under his direction before, I think his choices do give the people of Italy a lot to enjoy. There is rap, ballads, rock, indie pop, Latin dance, and whatever J-Ax is doing with his ironic country.
The Moments Between The Music
However, the same cannot be said for what Conti is doing with his hosting choices. Conti is not trying to capture the spirit of what Italy is talking about, but rather to set a paternal agenda. He is trying to act as Italy’s fun uncle, here to offer the kids a treat (the competing songs) but also teach them about life. At multiple points during the show, he has mentioned the lessons for the giovani, whether it is about listening to the struggles of their grandparents in the early Republic, being lectured about social media addiction, or avoiding gang violence.
But like many a “fun uncle,” Conti is prone to thinking that what he enjoyed in his past are things that will be enjoyable to everyone. Some of this tendency toward nostalgia has come out in a positive way – by celebrating elderly artists like Fausto Leali, Mogol and Caterina Caselli so they can get their flowers (literally) while they can still enjoy them. This celebration is something we usually only get during covers night. But aside from these well-deserved Lifetime Achievement Awards, there has been an overemphasis on anniversaries from performers: Eros Ramazzotti’s 40th anniversary of Adesso Tu; Tiziano Ferro’s 25th anniversary of Xdono; even the 33rd anniversary of Laura Pausini’s newcomers’ win with “La Solidutine.”
And the rest of the performers aren’t exactly reflecting the youth of today, skewing towards entertainers who had their biggest success in the 1990s and early 2000s. Admittedly, the boat performer needs to be a veteran in order to complete a 5-day residency, but Max Pezzali hasn’t released an album of original music since 2020. Laura Pausini has co-hosted multi-day shows before (like Eurovision), but was there a reason she needed to cover a 1991 song, especially one by Michael Jackson?
Making Smart Choices For All The Audience
Things become worse when we look at the other acts that Conti is bringing on stage. The week started strong on Tuesday with the co-host Turkish actor Can Yaman. Yaman played the pirate Sandokan on a Rai 1 show of the same name, which aired in December 2025 – just a few weeks ago. Conti then invited Kabir Bedi, who played Sandokan in the 1976 RAI miniseries, to join Yaman on stage so the two could spend some time comparing their experiences. On Tuesday night, I thought it was sweet. By the end of the week, I view it as the first indication of how backward-looking Conti’s tenure this year has been.
I acknowledge that humour is often language-specific and does not translate across cultures. But Ubaldo Pantani, who impersonated business executive Lapo Elkann on Thursday, first did so in 2005, more than 20 years ago. How is it still fresh today?
The youngest non-competing performer to appear at the Ariston was Achille Lauro, who is 35; the youngest co-host from the week (Pilar Fogliati) is 33. The “baby Carlo Conti| – Gianluca Gazzoli, who presented the Newcomers competition – is 37. Even the models – Irina Shayk and Bianca Balti – are over 40.
So what attraction is there for someone like El Ma, who is 18 years old? Or Sayf, who is barely a year older than Tiziano Ferro’s “Xdono”? Or Samurai Jay, born a full five years after the release of Laura Pausini’s “La Solitudine”? Sure, they can tune in for the songs they and their peers are creating. But for young people, what’s the point of sitting through a four-hour show when they can just watch the clips the next day?
Keeping All Of Sanremo Diverse
Many of us have always admired Sanremo for the age diversity of its acts; it is a show where you can see someone who is in their 70s competing against someone in their 20s. But that diversity needs to extend to the show outside of the competition as well. Sanremo is the Festival della canzone Italiana – dedicated to introducing new Italian songs to the country and world. We need to see new young comedians, musicians and presenters at the Ariston if the show is to continue.
But we also need to make sure that the artistic director chooses the right combination of comedians, musicians, and presenters. As I was watching Carlo Conti on Thursday night, I saw him appear with an Austin Powers-esque figure of crude jokes and a model who did not speak Italian, essentially there to look pretty and say nothing. I did not feel like I was watching Sanremo 2026; I felt like I was watching Italian television in the 1990s. For the first time in a long time, I was not enjoying Sanremo. If I, a Sanremo apologist, am not enjoying it, what hope does it have of attracting new fans?
There have already been signs of issues with Conti’s retrograde approach this year. Ratings are down by about a million viewers; if Conti had not already announced that this was his last year at Sanremo, I do not know whether he would have received a contract renewal. The role of the host requires balancing their taste with Italy’s; Conti took a hard turn toward self-indulgence this year.
Sanremo has been going on since 1951. It will continue. But whether it will continue as a ratings success and something embraced by age groups across the country requires a director willing to use some of their power wisely to program a festival that does not just appeal to them, but to all of Italy.