Sanremo makes strong debut

The 2025 Sanremo Song Festival made a strong debut on its opening night, attracting an average of 12.6 million viewers, or 65.3% of the audience share, CE Report quotes ANSA.

This year's audience includes for the first time small screen viewers who tune in with a personal computer, smart phone or tablet.

The first night of the festival hosted by Carlo Conti featured as a guest star Italian singer-songwriter and rapper Lorenzo Cherubini, better known as Jovanotti, and a video message from Pope Francis.

The evening was co-hosted by popular TV presenters Antonella Clerici and Gerry Scotti.

Brunori SAS, Giorgia, Lucio Corsi, Simone Cristicchi and Achille Lauro were the five artists who topped the standings on the first evening of the much-loved TV jamboree and song contest.

Last year, according to Auditel data exclusively based on TV viewers, the popular song fest attracted an average of 10.561 million, or 65.1% of the TV audience share.