The most important event in the country: why all of Italy is now watching Sanremo The EU states give the green light to controversial asylum reforms

John Travolta, the cow Ercolina and dozens of musicians were on the same stage this week. They are all part of what is probably Italy’s most important event: the Sanremo Music Festival. The event in the city of the same name has captivated Italians to their TV screens for a week every year since the 1950s. On Tuesday alone, no fewer than 16.8 million people watched the 74th edition on television. This corresponds to a viewing figure of 65 percent.

This year 30 musicians will perform in Sanremo. Among them are greats such as Loredana Berté, Ricchi e Poveri, Renga e Nek and last year’s winner Mahmood. Only new songs are presented in Italian. Whoever wins the competition will represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC). The careers of some of the country’s most successful artists began in Sanremo, including Laura Pausini, Eros Ramazzotti, Andrea Bocelli and the band Maneskin.

In addition, foreign star guests are always invited. This year these were Hollywood icons John Travolta and Russell Crowe and football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has been working as a consultant at AC Milan for a few weeks now. Travolta caused a lot of ridicule with a duck dance during the traditional singing competition. The show lasts approximately five hours each evening.

In addition to the artists, an animal guest is also planned: the cow Ercolina. She made her first big appearance on Tuesday when she arrived in Sanremo and was taken by her owner for a walk along the promenade of the festival city in northern Italy. Her owner brought her to Sanremo to raise awareness about his problems together with other farmers.

Inevitably, the farmers’ protests, which have been making headlines in Italy and across Europe for weeks, also became an issue in Sanremo this year. Every year the event responds to social trends. Sanremo is a snapshot of Italian society and what currently influences it – a ‘selfie of the nation’, so to speak. The farmers benefit from this. For them, there is probably no better stage in the entire country to draw attention to their concerns than during Italy’s most popular music show.