Sanremo 2025: Extravagance and elegance mark first night of historic Italian song contest
The first night of Italy's famous Sanremo Musical Festival was marked by who was on stage as much as who was off it.
Pope Francis set the tone with a message that music "is beauty and an instrument of peace", a theme followed up by Jovanotti's show and the performance of Israel's Noa and the Palestinian artist Mira Awad singing 'Imagine' together.
Viewing data suggests some 12.6 million people watched the first evening of the 75th edition of the festival and the fourth of artistic director Carlo Conti.
Perhaps surprisingly, the show finished at 1.20 a.m., exactly fifteen minutes earlier than the setlist provided but the music was the undisputed star of the night, during which all 29 artists in the competition performed.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Sanremo Rai (@sanremorai)
The five singers most popular with the press
Brunori Sas, Giorgia, Lucio Corsi, Simone Cristicchi and Achille Lauro. These were, in no particular order, the top five artists of the first night of competition. The result of the vote was cast by press, TV and web journalists and announced by Carlo Conti along with co-hosts Gerry Scotti and Antonella Clerici.
As rules require, the positions in the provisional ranking have not been announced.
Expectations are high for the second evening where Måneskin frontman Damiano David will perform, along with the cast of 'Follemente', the new comedy by Paolo Genovese. On Wednesday, around half the singers will take to the stage to perform (after Emis Killa's withdrawal) while the others will do so on Thursday evening.
Sanremo 2025: tributes and Jovanotti's party
There was a moving homage to Fabrizio Frizzi and a performance by Jovanotti who, after a year and a half, delighted thousands dancing and singing on the streets of Sanremo. Dozens of drummers accompanied his rendition of 'L'ombelico del mondo'.
As in 2016, Ezio Bosso's voice echoed across the city along with the notes of ' Following a bird' as he said: "Always remember: music, like life, can only be done in one way, together". He also gave thanks to Carlo Conti, Baglioni, Amadeus and paid special tribute to Mike Bongiorno and Pippo Baudo, "the father of the Festival as we know it now".
There was additional entertainment when Italian flamboyant athlete Gianmarco Tamberi announced he will continue to compete until Los Angeles 2028. Despite Carlo Conti's rejection of monologues, the Olympic champion high jumper, opted to read a text together with Jovanotti before revealing that he does not want to retire.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fashion Network
6 days ago
- Fashion Network
UK media entrepreneur launches new print and digital mag Imagine
Huw Gwyther, the media entrepreneur known for Wonderland and Man About Town, has just launched a new independent magazine, Imagine. We're told the 292-page inaugural print edition represents a 'vibrant new media brand where high fashion, entertainment, and popular culture collide'. Despite the bi-annual print issue being the high-profile feature of the launch, founder Gwyther said it's a 'digital-first magazine with a bold print edition that exists to break rules and spark ideas'. It has a big focus on the talent it's featuring and Gwyther said it includes 'fearless fashion stories shaped by some of today's most exciting photographers and stylists, accompanied by in-depth, unfiltered 'head-to-head' conversations. With no rigid themes and a digital-first DNA — video, audio, and social content embedded from day one — Imagine is built to evolve, engage, and inspire'. The launch issue comes with a line-up of digital and print covers spotlighting 'some of the most exciting emerging talents in global entertainment". Leading the charge are Hollywood breakout and Monster star Nicholas Alexander Chavez; Mexican actor, singer, and author Eiza González; and British rising star Yasmin Finney. As for the team putting it together, Gwyther is editorial and creative director. Olive Walton is editor-in-chief after a background spanning short film, music videos, television, and content production, before transitioning to editorial. Justin Hamilton is fashion director, having worked with British Vogue, GQ, V Magazine, Dazed, and Numéro. And Kelly Cornwell is beauty director having worked with Vogue, i-D, Vanity Fair, and Elle, plus brands from Alexander McQueen to Laura Mercier. Stuart Jackson takes the reins as publisher after holding senior commercial roles across titles including Wonderland, Hero, Heroine, and Man About Town. And Danner Tassone is US publisher, overseeing all North American operations.
Fashion Network
6 days ago
- Fashion Network
UK media entrepreneur launches new print and digital mag Imagine
Huw Gwyther, the media entrepreneur known for Wonderland and Man About Town, has just launched a new independent magazine, Imagine. We're told the 292-page inaugural print edition represents a 'vibrant new media brand where high fashion, entertainment, and popular culture collide'. Despite the bi-annual print issue being the high-profile feature of the launch, founder Gwyther said it's a 'digital-first magazine with a bold print edition that exists to break rules and spark ideas'. It has a big focus on the talent it's featuring and Gwyther said it includes 'fearless fashion stories shaped by some of today's most exciting photographers and stylists, accompanied by in-depth, unfiltered 'head-to-head' conversations. With no rigid themes and a digital-first DNA — video, audio, and social content embedded from day one — Imagine is built to evolve, engage, and inspire'. The launch issue comes with a line-up of digital and print covers spotlighting 'some of the most exciting emerging talents in global entertainment". Leading the charge are Hollywood breakout and Monster star Nicholas Alexander Chavez; Mexican actor, singer, and author Eiza González; and British rising star Yasmin Finney. As for the team putting it together, Gwyther is editorial and creative director. Olive Walton is editor-in-chief after a background spanning short film, music videos, television, and content production, before transitioning to editorial. Justin Hamilton is fashion director, having worked with British Vogue, GQ, V Magazine, Dazed, and Numéro. And Kelly Cornwell is beauty director having worked with Vogue, i-D, Vanity Fair, and Elle, plus brands from Alexander McQueen to Laura Mercier.
France 24
29-05-2025
- France 24
Dua Lipa, public figures urge UK to end Israel arms sales
Actors, musicians, activists and other public figures wrote the letter calling on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to "end the UK's complicity in the horrors in Gaza". British-Albanian pop sensation Dua Lipa has been vocal about the war in Gaza and last year criticised Israel's offensive as a "genocide". Israel has repeatedly denied allegations of genocide and says its campaign intends to crush Hamas following the deadly October 2023 attack by the Palestinian militants. Other signatories include actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton and Riz Ahmed, and musicians Paloma Faith, Annie Lennox and Massive Attack. "You can't call it 'intolerable' and keep sending arms," read the letter to Labour leader Starmer organised by Choose Love, a UK-based humanitarian aid and refugee advocacy charity. Sports broadcaster Gary Lineker, who stepped down from his role at the BBC after a social media post that contained anti-Semitic imagery, also signed the letter. Signatories urged the UK to ensure "full humanitarian access across Gaza", broker an "immediate and permanent ceasefire", and "immediately suspend" all arms sales to Israel. "The children of Gaza cannot wait another minute. Prime Minister, what will you choose? Complicity in war crimes, or the courage to act?", the letter continued. Earlier this month, Starmer slammed Israel's "egregious" renewed military offensive in Gaza and promised to take "further concrete actions" if it did not stop -- without detailing what the actions could be. Last September the UK government suspended 30 out of 350 arms export licenses to Israel, saying there was a "clear risk" they could be used to breach humanitarian law. Global outrage has grown after Israel ended a ceasefire in March and stepped up military operations this month, killing thousands of people in a span of two months according to figures by the Hamas-run health ministry. The humanitarian situation has also sparked alarm and fears of starvation after a two-month blockade on aid entering the devastated territory. Over 800 UK lawyers including Supreme Court justices, and some 380 British and Irish writers warned of Israel committing a "genocide" in Gaza in open letters this week. Hamas killed 1,218 people, mostly civilians, in their October 2023 attack on Israel, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 who the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's military offensive launched in response has killed 54,084, mostly civilians, in Gaza according to its health ministry, displaced nearly the entire population and ravaged swathes of the besieged strip.
