Sanremo Music Festival 1974

Sanremo Music Festival 1974
Dates and venue
First night
  • 7 March 1974
Second night
  • 8 March 1974
Final night
  • 9 March 1974
VenueSanremo Casino
Sanremo, Italy
Organisation
OrganiserGianni Ravera
Elio Gigante
Vittorio Salvetti
Production
BroadcasterRadiotelevisione italiana (RAI)
DirectorAdriana Parrella
Enrico Moscatelli
PresentersCorrado
and Gabriella Farinon
Vote
Number of entries28
Winner"Ciao cara, come stai?"
Iva Zanicchi

The Sanremo Music Festival 1974 (Italian: Festival di Sanremo 1974), officially the 24th Italian Song Festival (24º Festival della canzone italiana), was the 24th annual Sanremo Music Festival, held at the Sanremo Casino in Sanremo between 7 and 9 March 1974. It was organised by Gianni Ravera, Elio Gigante and Vittorio Salvetti, and broadcast by Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI). The shows were presented by Corrado, assisted by Gabriella Farinon.

The winning song was "Ciao cara, come stai?" performed by Iva Zanicchi, and written by Cristiano Malgioglio, Italo Ianne, Dinaro and Claudio Daiano.

Format

In November 1973, Sanremo city councillors decided the municipality would not organise the festival's 1974 edition directly and instead entrust the organisation to a third party, as an attempt to revive interest in the event.[1] The municipality contacted former artistic directors of the festival, Gianni Ravera, Vittorio Salvetti, Elio Gigante and Ezio Radaelli, to submit proposals.[2] Following a dispute between councillors over the choice of Salvetti and a joint proposal by Ravera and Gigante, all three were entrusted with the festival's organisation.[3] Unsatisfied with the decision, the three signed a letter sent to the municipality communicating their intention not to organise the festival under any condition.[4] However, two days later on 21 January 1974, they accepted a new offer to organise the event.[5]

The festival was initially scheduled to take place between 21 and 23 February of 1974, but following delays in its organisation, the dates were moved to 7, 8 and 9 March 1974.[1][6]

For the first time, competing entries in the festival were split between big and newcomer artists. Newcomers performed during the first two nights facing elimination from the competition, while big artists automatically gained a place in the final, performing their songs during the first two nights without being subject to a vote.[7]

Voting system

The voting system for this edition was agreed upon by the festival's organisers and union representatives. Fourteen juries located in different Italian cities voted in each show, but only six were drawn at random and used to determine the results.[8][9] Juries were composed of thirty members, each with one vote.[8][10] After the first two nights, the four newcomer artists that received the most votes advanced to the final.[8] In the final, only the winner was announced, all other finalists declared tied runners-up and the full ranking never revealed.[9][11]

Competing entries

A total of 137 songs were submitted for the competition.[12][13] The festival's competing entries were divided into two categories: big and newcomer artists. Songs competing in the big artists section were chosen directly by the festival's organisers, Gianni Ravera, Elio Gigante and Vittorio Salvetti, who announced the list of fourteen entries on 20 February.[14]

A nine-member special commission including university students, musicians and record producers was tasked with selecting twelve of the submitted songs for the newcomers section.[15] The song selection process took place in the Hotel Astoria in Sanremo and was recorded via closed-circuit television cameras, able to viewed live by journalists and record producers.[12] The commission decided to select fourteen songs, which were then paired with artists proposed by record labels and announced on 21 February.[12][16]

Competing entries – Big Artists[14][17]
Song Artist Songwriter(s)
"In controluce" Al Bano
"Questa è la mia vita" Domenico Modugno
"A modo mio" Gianni Nazzaro
"Senza titolo" Gilda Giuliani
"Ciao cara, come stai?" Iva Zanicchi
"Mon ami Tango" Les Charlots
"Cavalli bianchi" Little Tony
  • Giulifan
  • Bruno Casu
  • Miro
"Sole giallo" Middle of the Road
"Monica delle bambole" Milva
"Innamorati" Mino Reitano
"Ah! L'amore" Mouth and MacNeal
  • Enzo Lombardo
  • Gilberto Sebastianelli
  • Ermanno Capelli
"Il matto del villaggio" Nicola Di Bari
"Occhi rossi" Orietta Berti
"Un po' di coraggio" Rosanna Fratello
Competing entries – Newcomers[16][17]
Song Artist Songwriter(s)
"Sta piovendo dolcemente" Anna Melato
"Per una donna, donna" Antonella Bottazzi Antonella Bottazzi
"Se hai paura" Domodossola
"Capelli sciolti" Donatella Rettore
"Il mio volo bianco" Emanuela Cortesi
  • Claudio Daiano
  • Italo Ianne
  • Flavio Zanon
"Fiume grande" Franco Simone Franco Simone
"Canta con me" Kambiz
"La canta" Orchestra Spettacolo Casadei
"La donna quando pensa" Paola Musiani
  • Mauro Galati
  • Ermanno Capelli
"Valentin tango" Piero Focaccia
"Complici" Riccardo Fogli
"Qui" Rossella
"Ricomincerei" Sonia Gigliola Conti
"Notte dell'estate" Valentina Greco
  • Albino Mammoliti
  • Aldo Buonocore
  • Claudio Celli

Shows

French group Les Charlots performing at the festival

The festival consisted of three shows held between 7 and 9 March 1974. The first two nights were broadcast only on radio and consisted of fourteen songs each, split equally between songs by big and newcomer artists. Four songs by newcomers qualified from the first two nights to join the fourteen big artists in the final, creating a total of eighteen songs.[10] A draw to decide the running order for the first two nights took place during rehearsals in Milan on 28 February.[18][19]

All shows were presented by Corrado, who was assisted by Gabriella Farinon.[7] The radio broadcasts for the first two nights were directed by Adriana Parrella, while the television director for the final was Enrico Moscatelli.[20][21][22]

First night

The first night took place on 7 March 1974 at 20:40 CET.[20][23] Seven newcomers and seven big artists performed their song.

  Qualifier
Newcomers – 7 March 1974[24][25]
R/O Song Artist Points Rank
1 "Notte dell'estate" Valentina Greco 39 3
2 "Se hai paura" Domodossola 40 2
3 "Capelli sciolti" Donatella Rettore 10 11
4 "Canta con me" Kambiz 31 7
5 "Qui" Rossella 8 12
6 "La canta" Orchestra Spettacolo Casadei 36 5
7 "Ricomincerei" Sonia Gigliola Conti 16 10
Big Artists – 7 March 1974[24]
R/O Song Artist
1 "A modo mio" Gianni Nazzaro
2 "Senza titolo" Gilda Giuliani
3 "Il matto del villaggio" Nicola Di Bari
4 "Ah! L'amore" Mouth and MacNeal
5 "Cavalli bianchi" Little Tony
6 "Un po' di coraggio" Rosanna Fratello
7 "In controluce" Al Bano

Second night

The second night took place on 8 March 1974 at 20:40 CET.[21][26] Seven newcomers and seven big artists performed their song. The four newcomers that received the most points from the jury were selected for the final.[11]

  Qualifier
Newcomers – 8 March 1974[11][24]
R/O Song Artist Points Rank
1 "Il mio volo bianco" Emanuela Cortesi 49 1
2 "Valentin tango" Piero Focaccia 25 8
3 "La donna quando pensa" Paola Musiani 3 14
4 "Fiume grande" Franco Simone 35 6
5 "Per una donna, donna" Antonella Bottazzi 4 13
6 "Complici" Riccardo Fogli 25 8
7 "Sta piovendo dolcemente" Anna Melato 39 3
Big Artists – 8 March 1974[24]
R/O Song Artist
1 "Occhi rossi" Orietta Berti
2 "Innamorati" Mino Reitano
3 "Mon ami Tango" Les Charlots
4 "Ciao cara, come stai?" Iva Zanicchi
5 "Questa è la mia vita" Domenico Modugno
6 "Sole giallo" Middle of the Road
7 "Monica delle bambole" Milva

Final night

Winning performer Iva Zanicchi holding the first prize next to songwriter Cristiano Malgioglio

The final night took place on 9 March 1974 at 20:40 CET.[22] The eighteen finalists performed their songs again and a winner was chosen.[27] A pre-recorded stand-up comedy routine performed by actor Walter Chiari was featured in the show before the announcement of the winner.[28]

The winning song was "Ciao cara, come stai?" written by Cristiano Malgioglio, Italo Ianne, Dinaro and Claudio Daiano, and performed by Iva Zanicchi.[27][28][29] This marked Zanicchi's third victory at the festival, making her the female performer with the highest number of wins.[17]

  Winner
Final night – 9 March 1974[30][31]
R/O Song Artist
1 "Un po' di coraggio" Rosanna Fratello
2 "Cavalli bianchi" Little Tony
3 "Senza titolo" Gilda Giuliani
4 "Sole giallo" Middle of the Road
5 "Occhi rossi" Orietta Berti
6 "Il matto del villaggio" Nicola Di Bari
7 "Mon ami Tango" Les Charlots
8 "Notte dell'estate" Valentina Greco
9 "A modo mio" Gianni Nazzaro
10 "Questa è la mia vita" Domenico Modugno
11 "Monica delle bambole" Milva
12 "Innamorati" Mino Reitano
13 "Se hai paura" Domodossola
14 "Il mio volo bianco" Emanuela Cortesi
15 "In controluce" Al Bano
16 "Sta piovendo dolcemente" Anna Melato
17 "Ah! L'amore" Mouth and MacNeal
18 "Ciao cara, come stai?" Iva Zanicchi

Broadcasts

Local broadcast

The first two nights were broadcast via radio on Secondo Programma beginning at 20:40 CET.[20][21][23][26] The final night was broadcast on both Programma Nazionale (television) and Secondo Programma (radio) at 20:40 CET.[22]

International broadcast

The final was broadcast via the Eurovision network in other countries.[32] It was also broadcast live in cinemas throughout the United States and Canada.[8][24] Known details on the broadcasts in each country, including the specific broadcasting stations and commentators are shown in the tables below.

International broadcasters of the Sanremo Music Festival 1974
Country Broadcaster Channel(s) Commentator(s) Ref(s)
 Argentina Río de la Plata TV Canal 13[a] Cacho Fontana [33]
Rivadavia Televisión Tevedos[a]
 Chile UCTV Canal 13[b] Pepe Guixé [34]
 Greece EIRT EIRT[c] [35]
 Hungary MTV MTV1[d] [36]
 South Korea MBC[e] Lee Hae-seong [37]
 Turkey TRT TRT Televizyon [38]
İl radyosu[f] [39]
 Yugoslavia JRT TV Beograd 1[g] [40]
Radio Belgrade 1[g]

Incidents and controversies

Attempt to increase the number of finalists

On 6 March, the festival's organisers received a letter from record labels requesting the number of spots in the final for newcomer artists be raised from four to six. The organisers considered the request, but in order to accommodate the extra performances, needed approval from RAI to extend the broadcast time.[41] After the second night concluded, the Orchestra Spettacolo Casadei, who placed fifth in the newcomers ranking, was stopped by the traffic police on their way back to Emilia-Romagna and informed by one of the organisers, Vittorio Salvetti, that they would perform again in the final.[28] However, RAI refused to extend the event’s broadcast time and the idea was abandoned.[29] Leader of the group, Raoul Casadei, stated he would never participate in the festival again as a result of the incident.[28]

Notes

  1. 1 2 Deferred broadcast the day of the final at 20:00 (ART)[33]
  2. ↑ Delayed broadcast on 17 March at 22:00 (CLST)[34]
  3. ↑ Delayed broadcast on 10 March at 21:50 (EET)[35]
  4. ↑ Delayed broadcast on 20 April at 20:45 (CET)[36]
  5. ↑ Delayed broadcast on 2 June at 22:20 (KST)[37]
  6. ↑ Delayed broadcast in a shortened format on 11 July at 16:00 (EEST)[39]
  7. 1 2 Deferred broadcast on Radio Belgrade 1 the day of the final at 22:35 (CEST)[40]

References

  1. 1 2 O., R. (11 November 1973). "Il Festival di Sanremo gestito da un privato?". La Stampa (in Italian). Vol. 107, no. 266. p. 7. OCLC 1367283024. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  2. ↑ B., R. (14 December 1973). "Riuniti i 4 esperti della canzone per salvare il Festival a Sanremo". La Stampa (in Italian). Vol. 107, no. 292. p. 7. OCLC 1367283024. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  3. ↑ B., R. (19 January 1974). "Sanremo, tre organizzatori Ravera, Salvetti e Gigante". La Stampa (in Italian). Vol. 108, no. 16. p. 7. OCLC 1367283024. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  4. ↑ B., R. (20 January 1974). "Il festival di Sanremo è senza organizzatori". La Stampa (in Italian). Vol. 108, no. 17. p. 8. OCLC 1367283024. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  5. ↑ B., R. (22 January 1974). "Ravera, Gigante e Salvetti per due anni organizzeranno il "Festival di Sanremo„". La Stampa (in Italian). Vol. 108, no. 18. p. 8. OCLC 1367283024. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  6. ↑ Preve, Vittorio (26 January 1974). "Reazioni a Sanremo al festival ritardato". La Stampa (in Italian). Vol. 108, no. 22. p. 8. OCLC 1367283024. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  7. 1 2 Preve, Vittorio (28 February 1974). "Il Festival si rinnova con gli antichi tanghi". La Stampa (in Italian). Vol. 108, no. 43. p. 8. OCLC 1367283024. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Repetto, Aldo (6 March 1974). "Vigilia tranquilla a Sanremo". Libertà (in Italian). Vol. 92, no. 54. p. 6. Retrieved 2 July 2026 – via Biblioteca Passerini-Landi.
  9. 1 2 Donaggio, Emio (11 March 1974). "Sanremo, che delusione". Stampa Sera (in Italian). Vol. 106, no. 59. p. 7. OCLC 1367283024. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  10. 1 2 Curino, Luciano (7 March 1974). "Sanremo, con tanti giovani (da sacrificare in due sere)". La Stampa (in Italian). Vol. 108, no. 48. p. 9. OCLC 1367283024. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  11. 1 2 3 "Stasera a Sanremo la canzone vincente". Il Piccolo (in Italian). Vol. 93, no. 8368. 9 March 1974. p. 8. Retrieved 3 July 2026 – via Internet Archive.
  12. 1 2 3 O., R. (19 February 1974). "Sanremo, tante le canzoni vecchie e nuove polemiche". La Stampa (in Italian). Vol. 108, no. 38. p. 7. OCLC 1367283024. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  13. ↑ "Domani la selezione delle 137 canzoni". Libertà (in Italian). Vol. 92, no. 41. 19 February 1974. p. 8. Retrieved 3 July 2026 – via Biblioteca Passerini-Landi.
  14. 1 2 O., R. (21 February 1974). "Sanremo, 14 prescelti (e già tutti finalisti)". La Stampa (in Italian). Vol. 108, no. 39. p. 7. OCLC 1367283024. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  15. ↑ B., R. (20 February 1974). "Morandi rinuncia a Sanremo". Stampa Sera (in Italian). Vol. 106, no. 43. p. 10. OCLC 1367283024. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  16. 1 2 O., R. (23 February 1974). "Sanremo, selezione fatta le canzoni salgono a 28". La Stampa (in Italian). Vol. 108, no. 40. p. 7. OCLC 1367283024. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  17. 1 2 3 Eddy Anselmi. Festival di Sanremo: almanacco illustrato della canzone italiana. Panini Comics, 2009. ISBN 8863462291.
  18. ↑ I., D. (1 March 1974). "I «big» hanno disertato le prove per Sanremo". L'Unità (in Italian). Vol. 51, no. 59. p. 7. OCLC 1367940615. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  19. ↑ "L'ordine di esecuzione delle ventotto canzoni". Libertà (in Italian). Vol. 92, no. 50. 1 March 1974. p. 6. Retrieved 2 July 2026 – via Biblioteca Passerini-Landi.
  20. 1 2 3 "Radio giovedì 7 marzo" [Radio Thursday 7 March]. Radiocorriere TV (in Italian). Vol. 51, no. 10. Turin, Italy. 3–9 March 1974. pp. 50–51. Retrieved 29 June 2026 – via Rai Teche.
  21. 1 2 3 "Radio venerdì 8 marzo" [Radio Friday 8 March]. Radiocorriere TV (in Italian). Vol. 51, no. 10. Turin, Italy. 3–9 March 1974. pp. 54–55. Retrieved 29 June 2026 – via Rai Teche.
  22. 1 2 3
  23. 1 2 "Oggi alla radio". La Stampa (in Italian). Vol. 108, no. 48. 7 March 1974. p. 7. OCLC 1367283024. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 B., E. (3 March 1974). "Sanremo via satelite". La Stampa (in Italian). Vol. 108, no. 46. p. 7. OCLC 1367283024. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  25. ↑ Manstretta, Gianni (8 March 1974). "I veterani del Festival". Libertà (in Italian). Vol. 92, no. 56. p. 5. Retrieved 3 July 2026 – via Biblioteca Passerini-Landi.
  26. 1 2 "Oggi alla radio". La Stampa (in Italian). Vol. 108, no. 49. 8 March 1974. p. 6. OCLC 1367283024. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
  27. 1 2 Curino, Luciano (10 March 1974). "Vince Iva Zanicchi". La Stampa (in Italian). Vol. 108, no. 51. p. 10. OCLC 1367283024. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  28. 1 2 3 4 Manstretta, Gianni (10 March 1974). "E' proprio l'anno dell'Iva". Libertà (in Italian). Vol. 92, no. 58. p. 8. Retrieved 3 July 2026 – via Biblioteca Passerini-Landi.
  29. 1 2 Ionio, Daniele (10 March 1974). "Iva Zanicchi ha vinto il Festival di Sanremo". L'Unità (in Italian). Vol. 51, no. 68. p. 9. OCLC 1367940615. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  30. ↑ Curino, Luciano (9 March 1974). "Milva e Modugno, i migliori". La Stampa (in Italian). Vol. 108, no. 50. p. 8. OCLC 1367283024. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  31. ↑ Manstretta, Gianni (9 March 1974). "Sanremo: stasera finale-Tv". Libertà (in Italian). Vol. 92, no. 57. p. 3. Retrieved 3 July 2026 – via Biblioteca Passerini-Landi.
  32. ↑ Donaggio, Emio (9 March 1974). "E se vincesse Modugno?". Stampa Sera (in Italian). Vol. 106, no. 58. p. 3. OCLC 1367283024. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  33. 1 2 "Programa para hoy" [Program for today]. Crónica (in Spanish). Buenos Aires, Argentina. 9 March 1974. p. 16. Retrieved 1 October 2024 – via Internet Archive.
  34. 1 2 "Canal 13 presentará Festival de San Remo" [Channel 13 will present Sanremo Festival]. La Tercera (in Spanish). 17 March 1974. p. 52.
  35. 1 2 "Πρόγραμμα έβδομάδοο Ε. I. Ρ. Τ." [E. I. P. T. weekly program]. Makedonia (in Greek). Thessaloniki, Greece. 10 March 1974. p. 16. Retrieved 12 November 2025 – via National Library of Greece.
  36. 1 2 "Szombat – április 20" [Saturday – 20 April]. Rádió– és Televízióújság (in Hungarian). Vol. 19, no. 15. Budapest, Hungary. 15 April 1974. p. 20. Retrieved 15 March 2025 – via Nemzeti Archívum.
  37. 1 2 "MBCTV2일밤 산레모가요제放映" [MBC 2 June Sanremo Song Festival broadcast]. Maeil Business (in Korean). Seoul, South Korea. 29 May 1974. p. 8. Retrieved 31 August 2024 – via Naver.
  38. ↑ "TV". Milliyet (in Turkish). Istanbul, Turkey. 9 March 1974. p. 8. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  39. 1 2 "Radyolar" [Radios]. Milliyet (in Turkish). Istanbul, Turkey. 11 July 1974. p. 8. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  40. 1 2 "Телевизија" [Television]. Borba (in Serbo-Croatian (Cyrillic script)). Belgrade, Yugoslavia. 9 March 1974. p. 16. Retrieved 1 September 2024 – via Belgrade University Library.
  41. ↑ Ionio, Daniele (7 March 1974). "Hanno buone probabilità le voci nuove a Sanremo". L'Unità (in Italian). Vol. 51, no. 65. p. 9. OCLC 1367940615. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
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