Sanremo Festival 2026: Eros Ramazzotti's Jubilee and International Duet with Alicia Keys

The third festival evening at the Ariston Theatre became the arena for the grand return of Eros Ramazzotti, who exactly forty years after his 1986 triumph once again stood on the legendary stage. The performance by the Roman singer, announced by an archival recording of Pippo Baudo's voice, was a sentimental journey that culminated in a duet with American star Alicia Keys. The artists performed the song "L'Aurora" together, and Alicia Keys, highlighting her Sicilian roots, sang parts in Italian. Despite momentary technical issues with the sound system, which forced host Carlo Conti to call for a commercial break, the duet was rewarded with a standing ovation. Keys also presented her big hit "Empire State of Mind," symbolically changing the name of New York to Sanremo in the lyrics. During the event, the prestigious lifetime achievement award was presented to Giulio Repetti, better known as Mogol. The 89-year-old artist could not hide his emotion when the audience gave him a standing ovation, and screens showed fragments of his greatest hits. However, the evening also had a reflective dimension. Laura Pausini, co-hosting the festival, performed Michael Jackson's "Heal the World" with a children's choir, sending a message of peace to the world. This thread resonated particularly strongly in the context of the presence of Russian supermodel Irina Shayk. Although Shayk avoided clear political declarations, explaining that she came to celebrate love and music, her presence backstage raised questions about her stance on the war in Ukraine. The model only stated that from her heart flows only "love and peace," distancing herself from questions about Russian aggression. Since its inception in 1951, the Sanremo Festival has been for Italians not only a song contest but a barometer of social moods and the most important pop culture event in the country. In the competition part, the second group of fifteen participants from the "Big" category presented themselves. Voting by TV viewers and the radio jury revealed the provisional top five of the evening, which included Arisa, Sayf, Luché, Serena Brancale, and Sal Da Vinci. The latter, while performing a classic song, was overcome with emotion and cried after finishing his performance, which became one of the most commented moments on social media. FantaSanremo also had its moment when Arisa offered Carlo Conti sedatives right from the stage. Controversies were not lacking: Belen Rodriguez appeared unexpectedly during Samurai Jay's performance, but her lip-sync act was deemed technically unsuccessful due to a lack of synchronization. The evening was completed by parodies from Ubaldo Pantani, who impersonated Lapo Elkann, eliciting bursts of laughter with his vision of patriotism. „Umanamente sono peggio di prima, il successo non mi ha fatto sentire superiore, mi ha dato solo la grande forza di fare quello che mi piace di più; è bello farlo ma sappiamo bene quello che sta succedendo nel mondo e speriamo che le cose cambino.” (Humanly, I'm worse than before; success hasn't made me feel superior, it has only given me the great strength to do what I like most; it's beautiful to do it but we know well what is happening in the world and we hope things change.) — Eros Ramazzotti