The Sanremo Music Festival 2026 – or ‘Festival di Sanremo’ – is back for its 76th edition, with a new group of talented Italian musicians trying to win the prestige competition, and the chance to represent Italy at Eurovision.
Here’s how you can watch Sanremo Music Festival online from anywhere with a VPN – and potentially for free.
Sanremo Music Festival 2025 dates, free streams, TV channel
The 2026 Sanremo Music Festival started on Tuesday, February 24 and and runs until Saturday, February 29, the day of the final, and airs on Rai in Italy.
• FREE STREAM — Watch on RaiPlay NOW (Italy and around the world)
• Watch anywhere — Try NordVPN 100% risk free
Though an all-Italian affair, the Sanremo Music Festival has become a worldwide spectacle, with music fans – particularly Eurovision fans – tuning in to see all the original songs, special guests and iconic covers. It’s important for Eurofans because the winner will be given first right of refusal for Italy’s spot at Eurovision in May.
The 2026 Sanremo again features 30 established Campioni artists and a separate Nuove Proposte newcomers section. Voting is split between the televote, press/TV/web jury and radio jury, with results combined across five nights before a superfinal decides the winner.
Carlo Conti returns as host and artistic director at the Teatro Ariston. In Saturday’s final, the top five perform again before the decisive vote, alongside a performance from opera legend Andrea Bocelli.
Annalisa and Ghali are widely tipped as favourites to win Sanremo 2026, with Irama also backed to take the title and potentially represent Italy at Eurovision 2026.
Who will win Sanremo 2026? Tune in all week to find out – our guide explains how to watch Sanremo 2026 online for FREE and from anywhere with a VPN.
How to watch Sanremo Music Festival for free online
The whole Sanremo Music Festival 2026 will stream for free on Rai and RaiPlay in Italy. The Rai channel is free-to-air, and RaiPlay is totally free to watch online – you don’t even need to sign in.
You can also watch the press conferences, interviews, and pre- and post-shows PrimaFestival and DopoFestival on RaiPlay. All the shows are also available to stream in full on-demand afterwards.
Performances will also be on the Rai YouTube channel after the event, but they are usually taken down within a few weeks.
Struggling to connect to RaiPlay? If you’re traveling outside of Italy, a VPN like NordVPN can help you to access all your streaming services as if you were at home. More details below…
Watch Sanremo Music Festival from anywhere
Away from home at the moment and blocked from watching the Sanremo Music Festival 2026 on your usual stream?
You can still watch Sanremo Music Festival online thanks to the wonders of a VPN (Virtual Private Network). The software allows your devices to appear to be back in your home country regardless of where you are in the world, meaning you can still use all your usual services. Our favourite is NordVPN. It’s the best VPN on the market.
Using a VPN is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we’ve said, NordVPN is our favorite.
2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance, if you’re in the U.K. and want to view an Italian service, you’d select Italy from the list.
3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Fire up RaiPlay or your website of choice and stream the show easily.
How to watch Sanremo Music Festival 2026 internationally
Though it’s become popular around the world, there are no official streams for the Sanremo Music Festival outside of Italy – no broadcasters have picked it up in the U.S., U.K., Australia or Canada.
However, as we said above, the RaiPlay stream should be available internationally, so you can tune in to the Italian stream from anywhere! Naturally, all the coverage is in Italian.
Connect to RaiPlay from anywhere: If you do run into geoblocking issues when traveling outside of Italy, a good VPN can unblock the fee RaiPlay stream. NordVPN works a treat for this – we use it all the time for streaming.
Sanremo Music Festival 2026 contestants
Newcomers’ section
Angelica Bove – “Mattone”
Nicolò Filippucci – “Laguna”
Blind, El Ma & Soniko – “Nei miei DM”
Mazzariello – “Manifestazione d’amore”
Sanremo Music Festival 2026 schedule and format
Show times: starts 20:40 CET and can run late into the night.
🎵 First Night – Tuesday, 24 February
All 30 artists perform their songs for the first time.
Voting: Press Jury (Sala Stampa/TV/Web) decides rankings.
Provisional Top 5 announced at the end of the show (no specific placement order).
🎤 Second Night – Wednesday, 25 February
Half of the artists (15) perform again.
Voting: 50% Televote + 50% Radio Jury.
A new provisional Top 5 of this night is announced (with only the top-5 placements shared, not full ranking).
🎶 Third Night – Thursday, 26 February
The remaining 15 artists perform their songs for a second time.
Voting again is 50% Televote + 50% Radio Jury, and a fresh Top 5 of the night is revealed.
🎤 Fourth Night – Friday, 27 February (Cover Night)
All 30 artists perform cover versions of iconic songs — often with guests or duets.
This night’s voting does not count toward the final Sanremo winner rankings.
Voting includes Televote, Press Jury, Radio Jury (split across all three).
A winner of the Cover Night is announced separately.
🏆 Final – Saturday, 28 February
All 30 artists perform again their original entries.
The overall results from Nights 1, 2, 3 & 5 are combined to determine the top 5 artists overall.
The Top 5 return for a Superfinal performance and are voted again.
Voting in the Superfinal uses Televote + Press Jury + Radio Jury, and the artist with the highest combined score is crowned Sanremo 2026 winner.
Sanremo Music Festival 2026 special guests
📍 1st Night (Tuesday, 24 Feb)
Tiziano Ferro – international star performing live.
Olly – Sanremo 2025 winner on stage.
Gianna Pratesi – 105-year-old guest honoring 80 years of the Italian Republic vote.
Gaia – performing live from the Suzuki Stage.
Kabir Bedi – actor appearing on stage.
Max Pezzali – nightly special performance aboard the Costa Toscana.
📍 2nd Night (Wednesday, 25 Feb)
Arianna Fontana – multiple Olympic gold-medalist.
Francesca Lollobrigida – Olympic speed skating champion.
Lisa Vittozzi – Olympic biathlon gold-medalist.
Giacomo Bertagnolli – Paralympic alpine skiing champion, with guide Andrea Ravelli.
Giuliana Turra – Paralympic wheelchair curling competitor.
Bresh and The Kolors (Suzuki Stage performances across the festival).
(Max Pezzali continues nightly).
📍 3rd Night (Thursday, 26 Feb)
Alicia Keys – international superstar guest.
Eros Ramazzotti – Italian pop icon.
(The Kolors on Suzuki Stage).
(Max Pezzali nightly).
📍 4th Night (Friday, 27 Feb: Cover Night)
Bianca Balti – fashion icon and special guest appearance.
(Francesco Gabbani performs from the Suzuki Stage).
(Max Pezzali nightly).
📍 Final Night (Saturday, 28 Feb)
Andrea Bocelli – globally celebrated tenor and star guest.
(Pooh performs from the Suzuki Stage).
(Max Pezzali nightly).
When is the Sanremo Music Festival final?
The Sanremo Music Festival 2025 final will take place on Saturday, February 15 with the show starting at 7.35 p.m. GMT / 2.35 p.m. ET.
The winner will be decided by a combination of public and jury votes, and they will be offered the chance to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest, taking place in May.
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