An average of 9,543,000 viewers, equal to a 60.6% share, watched the third evening of the Sanremo Song Festival on Rai1 Thursday night, the highest third-night total since 1990.
    Last year, the third evening of the festival had an average total audience of 10,700,000 viewers, equal to a 59.8% share.
    With an average audience share of 60.6%, the third night of Carlo Conti's festival achieved its best result since 1990, when Sanremo, hosted by Johnny Dorelli and Gabriella Carlucci, recorded 64.59%, but at the time the festival was divided into four evenings.
    Considering the five-evening editions, it is the best result ever: it surpasses the 60.52% achieved on the third night of 1995, hosted by Pippo Baudo with Anna Falchi and Claudia Koll.
    Among the highlights of the evening were Eros Ramazzotti singing Adesso Tu, the hit that won exactly 40 year ago and launched his stellar career, introduced by a recording of late TV legend Pippo Baudo, who hosted the festival a record 13 times; and Ramazzotti's duet with 'super-guest' Alicia Keys, who sang some of her mega-hit Empire State of Mind in Italian in homage to her Sicilian great-grandparents.
    Other high spots were legendary song writer Mogol, Lucio Battisti's lyricist, getting a career achievement award six months ahead of his 90th birthday in August; co-host Laura Pausini singing Michael Jackson's peace anthem Heal The World with a children's choir; a moving appeal against bullying from a wheel-chair-bound 25-year-old man from Albenga, Paolo Sarullo, who was attacked by a teen gang and left tetraplegic.
    Co-presenter for the night was Russian supermodel Irina Shayek, who rose from poverty to stride across the catwalks of the world but whose halting Italian limited her to a few words and a twirl.
    The New Proposals category was won by 19-year-old Perugia-born Nicolò Filippucci, with Laguna.
    Arisa, Sayf, Luchè, Serena Brancale, Sal Da Vinci were placed in the top five positions, in no particular order, of the third evening of the Sanremo Festival 2026, as a result of televoting and the Radio Jury's vote on the 15 Big names who performed.
    This year's edition of the much-loved song fest and jamboree is being hosted by Conti for the second straight year and fifth time in all, and by Grammy-winning Italian pop star Pausini, whose career was launched by her victory at the festival in 1993.
    The biggest Italian TV event of the year ends Saturday night.
   
   

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