Italy: RAI confirms participation in Eurovision 2021

The Italian national broadcaster, RAI, has confirmed that it will competing in the next edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam in May 2021.

Italy joins the list of countries that will be participating in Eurovision 2021 in Rotterdam. RAI has confirmed to ESCToday that it will be back for the next contest . Following the confirmation that Sanremo festival will take place like every year with the presence of an audience, RAI cleared out that it will be competing in the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest.

Although it is more than likely that the country will determine its ESC 2021 act through Sanremo the broadcaster hasn’t made a clear statement about it. Since 2011 when Italy returned to the competition all acts have been selected through the Sanremo Festival, except the 2014 representative , Emma Marone who was selected internally.

The Italian Eurovision Story so far

Italy has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 45 times since making its debut at the first contest in 1956. After a 14-year absence from 1998 and on, the country returned to the contest in 2011. Italy has won the contest twice in 1964 with Gigliola Cinquetti and her song “Non ho l’età”. Italy’s second victory in the contest came in 1990 with Toto Cutugno and the song “Insieme: 1992”.

Italy’s come back to the contest has proved to be very successful, the country having finished in the top ten in seven times of the last eight contests (2011–2019), with Raphael Gualazzi second in 2011, Nina Zilli ninth in 2012, Marco Mengoni seventh in 2013 and Il Volo third in 2015, Francesco Ghabbani 6th in Kiev. In 2018 the winners of Sanremo 2018 ,Ermal Meta and Fabrizio Moro, represented Italy in Eurovision in Lisbon with their song “Non mi avete fatto niente”. The Italian duo achieved an honorable 5th place in the Grand final with 308 points and a remarkable 3rd placing in the public voting.

In 2019 , Mahmood, winner of Sanremo 2019 represented the country in Tel Aviv with his entry Soldi. The Italian representative kept the good results for Italy achieving a 2nd place in the Grand Final in Tel Aviv.

This year Diodato might have won the Sanremo festival with ‘Fai Rumore’ but unfortunately didn’t have the chance to perform in Rotterdam as the contest was cancelled de to the coronavirus pandemic. Lets remember Diodato’s stunning performance of ‘Fai Rumore’ in Arena di Verona broadcasted during the alternative show “Europe Shine A Light” last May: