5 moments from the first night of Sanremo that you missed

After the post-Covid era, the Festival had become more than just a singing competition—it had turned into a moment for the chronically online society of the Internet. Many younger viewers, in fact, admit to watching the Sanremo Festival more for its setting, its mishaps, and its trashy moments than for the songs themselves—especially given the highly institutional and somewhat paternalistic tone that Sanremo has taken on over the years. The new edition directed by Carlo Conti is undoubtedly more streamlined and concise, with “clean” being the most commonly used word in reviews. As a result, it lacks both moments that make the more judgmental audience members pull their hair out (who remembers John Travolta’s “ballo del qua qua”?) and those shocking moments that horrify the quiet bourgeois listeners. Depending on how you look at it, this is both a good and a bad thing—the audience, despite its many grumbles, craves the circus and the chaos, the unexpected, the trash. But this year, between a surprise appearance by the Pope and a schedule so fast-paced it felt like a conveyor belt, even exuberant co-hosts like Gerry Scotti and Antonella Clerici, both in top form, were swept up in Carlo Conti’s efficiency, as he maintained firm control over the stage. Still, there were moments of relief and fun—along with the traditional paternalistic tone. 

To recap the Festival’s opening, here are the top 5 moments from Sanremo’s first night.

Carlo Conti and Lucio Corsi’s make-up

Lucio Corsi (alongside Joan Thiele) represents the alternative side of a Festival where even the fierce Tony Effe cleans up his tattoos and dresses in white like it’s his First Communion (wasn’t his outfit the same as Sangiovanni’s last year?). Corsi’s look was undeniably glam—a more colorful version of something the Kiss might have worn, perhaps a nod to the early flamboyance of Renato Zero. In any case, after his performance, Corsi, whose face was entirely covered in white face paint, greeted Conti and Antonella Clerici, and as he left the stage, Conti was heard saying: «I won’t hug him too much, or I’ll turn white.» To which Antonella Clerici sarcastically replied: «And that would be a tragedy for you.» It doesn’t take much time or effort to make the audience laugh.

"Si na pret"

It was 10:30 PM. After a long (perhaps too long) prudish segment, featuring glam by Good Villain—the artist’s new makeup brand—and a flowing crimson red dress by Fendi, Rose Villain took the stage, competing for the second consecutive year after the success of Click Click Boom last year. According to online audiences, women truly dominated this first night, but among them, the Milanese singer drew so much attention that, in the few seconds between her introduction and the start of her song, someone from the Ariston audience shouted: «Si na pret». The Neapolitan phrase is a compliment, praising a woman’s beauty and sensuality, describing her as “tough as a rock.» The performance continued smoothly, but the clip of the shout quickly went viral, with some tweets racking up nearly 10,000 likes.

The lady in love with Jovanotti

After kicking off his set by filling the streets of the Ligurian city with a thousand drummers (thanks to the Rockin’1000 band), an Indian dance troupe, and some audio-visual hiccups caused by strobe lights, Jovanotti entered the Ariston by walking through the audience. Just five meters in, the Tuscan singer was ambushed by a die-hard fan: a lady so enamored that she repeatedly shouted into the microphone that she was in love with him while trying to shower him with kisses. Let’s just say she may have taken guest Lucio Corsi’s catchphrase «Strapazzami di coccole» («Smother me with cuddles») a bit too literally. In the remaining twenty minutes, however, we witnessed a long medley of the artist’s hits, marking his return to the stage after a serious bike accident. During his performance, Jovanotti paid tribute to the late Italian biologist Sammy Basso, who passed away last October, and brought Gimbo Tamberi to the Festival, following his leadership of the Italian Olympic team last summer in Paris (where he also lost his wedding ring in the Seine).

The Pope

We knew that this year Carlo Conti would bring back a good dose of old traditions to the Festival, but we never could have expected him to turn the first night of Sanremo 2025 into a festival of clichés. «Stop the wars,» «Long live Italy,» and «No discrimination»: the statements made by the host last night sounded more like platitudes than political declarations—because Sanremo is Sanremo, and Sanremo is on Rai. That is, until, just before the Israeli-Palestinian duet on Imagine (another revolutionary idea by Conti), the host invited Pope Francis to deliver a (video) message of peace on live television. Music is a «tool of peace,» declared the Holy Father, a universal language that «can help people coexist.» 

Clerici’s trofie

Antonella Clerici would have been an excellent Festival host. She proved it last night, invited by Carlo Conti as co-host for one night only, with subtle jabs, meme-worthy glances, and the magic word “réclame”. Even though Conti had planned the first night as a non-stop relay between songs, toward the end of the show, Clerici managed to take control with some good old-fashioned self-irony: bringing a plate of pesto pasta onto the Ariston stage, she recalled a rude comment she received back in 2010 when she was the Festival’s artistic director. «Since I 'smell like sauce,’» Clerici joked, «I thought I’d make some trofiette with pesto.»