TURIN, Italy — Italy is hosting this year’s Eurovision Song Contest thanks to Roman rock band Maneskin, who claimed the title in Rotterdam last year with their energetic track “Zitti e Buoni”.
Italy chose to host the event in Turin, in the northern foodie region of Piedmont, which was last in the international spotlight during the 2006 Winter Olympics. Then, just like tonight, viewers around the world caught a glimpse of this elegant city, where the first Fiat car was built about 120 years ago. More recently, the city has shifted its focus to contemporary art and is known for its renowned contemporary art foundations, museums and the Artissima art fair.
Italy is one of the “big five” Eurovision countries, which automatically qualify for the final because of the money their broadcasters contribute to the conduct of the competition. Although this arrangement is no guarantee of success in the final (sorry, Great Britain), Italian acts often do well in Eurovision Song Contest.
Three years ago, Mahmood’s “Soldi” came in second and the Italian artist is participating again this year with “Brividi” (“Chills”), a duet with newcomer Blanco.
This is also the third time that Italy organizes the Eurovision Song Contest.
In 1964, 16-year-old Gigliola Cinquetti won the Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen with “Non Ho l’Eta”, and the following year Italy hosted the contest in Naples. Italy won again in 1990, when Toto Cutugno took the top prize with the song “Insieme 1992”, meaning “Together 1992”, promoting a united Europe.
Cotugno and Cinquetti co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in Rome the following year, which is remembered on the Eurovision website as a “chaotic affair”, with the presenters often having to appeal to Eurovision officials for clarification, “especially during the vote.”
Tonight’s Italian hosts are Grammy Award-winning singer Laura Pausini, an Italian star with a worldwide following; Alessandro Cattelan, a popular TV host; and Mika, the British-Lebanese artist who has become a household name in Italy after several stints as a judge on X Factor Italia.