Bianca Balti on the Sanremo Stage: Moving Confession About Her Battle with Illness

This year's edition of the Sanremo Festival delivers emotions that go far beyond the framework of a music competition. The central point of the fourth evening was the return of world-famous model Bianca Balti, who shared her experiences related to cancer with the audience gathered at the Ariston Theatre. Balti, in moving words, described the past year as the most difficult in her life, emphasizing the need to "work through grief" for the former version of herself – a carefree person she was before starting chemotherapy. Her presence on stage was not merely an aesthetic element, but a manifesto of solidarity with women who are still fighting the disease or have passed away in the last year. The model also mentioned the support she received from Irina Shayk, which became proof of the existence of authentic female solidarity in the world of high fashion. Musically, the evening was dominated by performances by special guests. The duet of Eros Ramazzotti with Alicia Keys, performing the song "L'Aurora," became the climactic moment, although there was no shortage of controversy regarding the song lyrics visible on screens prepared for the American star. Viewers and journalists also closely followed the gestures of celebrities, such as Belén Rodríguez, who after a difficult personal period announced her return to full strength. Meanwhile, artistic director Carlo Conti commented with satisfaction on the viewership data, which indicate the best results since 1990. A market share exceeding 60% attracted a record number of young people to the screens, which Conti considered the greatest success of his strategy to refresh the festival's format. The Sanremo Festival has for decades served as a barometer of social moods in Italy, often becoming a place for important political and social manifestos, going beyond pure entertainment.Despite telemetric triumphs, the festival did not avoid criticism. Commentators from "La Repubblica" raise the issue of the anachronistic way women are presented on stage, arguing that the spectacle is still mentally stuck in a bygone era, despite superficial attempts at modernization. The contrast between the record television share and declines in streaming services suggests that Sanremo remains primarily a great national television ritual, and not necessarily a driving force of the contemporary music market. However, the fourth evening showed that Ariston can be a place of truth and authenticity, offering space for such important narratives as the one presented by Bianca Balti. „Sono qui per godermela anche per chi ha sofferto e soffre.” (I am here to enjoy it also for those who have suffered and are suffering.) — Bianca Balti