Sanremo 2027: De Martino banks on Dua Lipa as co-host

Stefano De Martino is aiming for a major international name for his debut at the helm of Sanremo. In particular, his sights are set on Dua Lipa, who could thus return to the Teatro Ariston not only as a musical guest, but also as co-host of one of the evenings of the 2027 Festival. According to rumors relaunched by Adn Kronos, negotiations are said to already be at an advanced stage, although no official confirmation has come from Rai or the event's organizers.
The British singer of Kosovar-Albanian descent is already familiar with the Sanremo stage: in 2020, during the first Festival directed by Amadeus, she performed "Don't Start Now" backed by eight dancers. This time her involvement would be much more extensive. It is not yet clear which evening she might be assigned to host, but the main hypotheses point to the opening night, the final, or the new "performance night," during which the Italian representative for Eurovision is expected to be chosen.

It is precisely her ties to the European competition that could favor this last option: in 2022, Tap Music, the management company that represented Dua Lipa, took part in selecting the British entrant for the BBC. At the moment, moreover, the popstar has no concerts scheduled during the days of the Festival, set to run from 16 to 20 February 2027.

The possible co-hosts

The official appointment received on the final day of Sanremo 2026 allowed De Martino to start working well in advance on his first edition as artistic director and host. Alongside Dua Lipa's name, that of Maria De Filippi continues to circulate, as she could return to the Ariston to accompany the host during one evening. Her presence would also carry strong symbolic value: De Martino began his television career on "Amici," the talent show that launched him in 2009, maintaining a very close relationship with the host over the years.
Meanwhile, the participation of Brenda Lodigiani, already at De Martino's side on "Stasera tutto è possibile," appears almost certain. For her, rather than co-hosting a single evening, plans point to a recurring presence, with comic segments spread across the whole Festival.

Dates and the new format

Sanremo 2027 will take place at the Teatro Ariston from Tuesday 16 to Saturday 20 February. The first change is expected to concern the distribution of performances: in the first two evenings, all contestants would present their own song, thus doing away with the alternating-performance system adopted in some previous editions. The artists would therefore be involved in all five evenings.
The cover-song competition would be moved up to Thursday 18 February. Each contestant will be able to choose an Italian or international track and perform it together with one or more guests. The evening is expected to keep its own separate ranking, without directly affecting the Festival's final result.
The main novelty could come on Friday 19 February with the "performance night." The singers will perform their competition song again, but will be able to change its arrangement and build a more spectacular performance, using dancers, stage sets and guests. During the evening, the Italian representative for the Eurovision Song Contest is also expected to be chosen. Participation in the European competition would thus be separated from winning Sanremo, allowing artists to put forward an entry designed specifically for an international audience.

Saturday 20 February will instead return to the traditional format, with the final and the announcement of the winner of the 77th edition. Still to be defined are the composition of the juries, the weight of the public televote, and the other voting mechanisms, which will only be clarified once the official rules are published.

Sanremo Giovani returns to the main competition

De Martino is reportedly also weighing a return to a format already used during the artistic direction of Claudio Baglioni and Amadeus. The winner of "Sanremo Giovani", announced in December during "Sarà Sanremo", would go straight into the main lineup, with no separate category reserved for the Nuove Proposte (New Talents). According to some reports, the selections could take place between September and December as part of "Affari tuoi", the Rai 1 show hosted by De Martino himself. That hypothesis, however, remains unconfirmed. The contestants could be announced on 29 November during the Tg1 news broadcast or on 4 December in a special episode of "Affari tuoi", while the song titles would be revealed later during "Sarà Sanremo".

Possible contestants

The new artistic director is reportedly planning a contest with around 24 entrants, a smaller number than in recent editions. The aim would be to build a leaner, more contemporary Festival, lowering the average age of the line-up and giving more room to pop, urban, rap and independent scenes.
Among the possible returns to the Ariston are Mahmood, Elodie, Blanco, Emma Marrone, Achille Lauro, Tananai, Madame, Alfa and The Kolors. Among the new generation of artists being mentioned are Lucio Corsi, Settembre, Emma Nolde, Venerus, Samurai Jay, Sayf, Faccianuova and Tutti Fenomeni.
Particular attention would be given to rap and the urban scene. The names circulating most persistently are Tedua, Kid Yugi, Geolier and Salmo, alongside Nu Genea and La Niña.
Among the possible contenders is also Anna, one of the most successful Italian artists of recent years. The rapper has recently voiced her interest in Eurovision, inevitably fuelling speculation about a possible Sanremo debut.

Among the various names being floated are also Tiziano Ferro and Belen Rodriguez. According to some rumours, the latter is reportedly considering entering the selections with an original song. Her possible debut as a singer would inevitably generate huge media buzz, not least because of her past relationship with De Martino, but for now there's no confirmation of any kind.

Possible guests: from Måneskin to Bruno Mars

The rumours also extend to the guest list. One of the most ambitious goals would be to reunite Måneskin on the Ariston stage, while De Martino's great Italian dream remains Vasco Rossi, possibly invited to open the Festival. Among the other names linked to the event is also Ultimo.
On the international front, besides Dua Lipa's possible role as co-host, the most significant name being floated is Bruno Mars. De Martino has confirmed he's already working on the international guests, without giving any precise details. Six months out from the start of the Festival, the Sanremo 2027 project is thus beginning to take shape, though most of the names and news remain in the realm of negotiations and rumour.

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