Sanremo 2026 Will Be Delayed – Winter Olympics Take Centre Stage
Rai confirms the 76th Festival di Sanremo will air from 24–28 February 2026, due to scheduling conflicts with the Winter Olympics Milano-Cortina. Once again, sport has nudged Italy’s most beloved music event out of its usual February spotlight.
It seems the Festival di Sanremo has found itself in a new sport: calendar dodging. The Italian broadcaster Rai has officially postponed the 2026 edition of its iconic music festival by three weeks to avoid a clash with the XXV Olympic Winter Games, which will run from 6 to 22 February 2026 in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
A festival on ice (metaphorically speaking)
Usually a fixture of early February, Sanremo 2026 will now take place from Tuesday 24 to Saturday 28 February, in a clear effort to keep Italy’s television schedule from turning into an all-out programming bobsleigh.
And while the Olympics might feature ski jumps and curling stones, it’s Sanremo that brings the real drama, sparkle and soaring vocals to Italian living rooms—and Twitter feeds.
Carlo Conti returns to the stage (just not the Olympic one)
The beloved presenter Carlo Conti returns to helm the event, likely unbothered by the shift—after all, he’s dodged tougher bullets than a last-minute scheduling change. But make no mistake: this year’s Italian music festival will need to pull off a golden performance to match the post-Olympic buzz.
Sanremo remains not only a cultural cornerstone, but also the launchpad for Italy’s Eurovision Song Contest 2026 entry—making the delay all the more strategic. After all, why risk having your ballad upstaged by a figure skater?
Rai’s dilemma: medals or melodies?
For Rai, this is a matter of balancing national pride with audience expectations. The Winter Olympics 2026 are a once-in-a-generation home event. Prioritising live Olympic coverage, especially with Italy hosting, was always going to be inevitable.
Still, expect plenty of Italians to be torn between watching someone nail a triple axel in Cortina… or belt a power ballad in Sanremo.
Source: Davidemaggio
