5 momentss from Sanremo Festival first night you might have missed

The first evening of Sanremo officially inaugurated the avalanche of memes invading Italian social media every February. As every year, last night there was no shortage of comic moments, jokes, mentions of Fantasanremo and Papalina, where it was born. Despite Marco Mengoni's co-hosting being a success, bringing the program to a share of over 65%, many may not have managed to keep their eyes open until two in the morning, and so they missed some of the highlights of the evening. For this reason, we have gathered the 5 best moments of the first evening of Sanremo.

The bow of Ricchi e Poveri

The Ariston stage is certainly the perfect place for statement pieces, whether they are complex hairstyles or towering heels. In the case of Ricchi e Poveri, the duo composed of Angela and Angelo, the first evening of Sanremo started with the theme "coquette". Before singing their competing song, "Ma non tutta la vita", the two entered the stage wrapped in a huge red bow, only to break free from it at the first chorus. An image that immediately pleased the Sanremo audience, both the bow and Angela's dance became meme material.

Dargen D’Amico and Ghali launch a ceasefire

At the Ariston, one can make a statement with their outfit, but also with what they sing. This was the case with Dargen D’Amico and Ghali, the two artists competing at the Festival who used the live broadcast to deliver a political message. Wearing a suit covered in teddy bears, Dargen D’Amico declared, «I dedicate this piece to my cousin Marta, who is now studying in Malta. Not all children have this luck in the Mediterranean, there are children under bombs, without food and water. Our silence is complicity. Ceasefire, history and God do not accept the silent scene,» while Ghali sang a song full of criticism against war.

Marco Mengoni and Mahmood start a rumour

There are looks that say a lot, especially if they have been seen by ten million people on Eurovision. In a strange turn of events, it wasn't Marco Mengoni's medley that set the Ariston stage and social media on fire, but a look he exchanged with Mahmood, before the singer competing with "Tuta Gold" performed. Mengoni placed a hand on his colleague's shoulder, they looked into each other's eyes, and the audience did the rest. Memes, users claiming to know gossip of which no one was previously aware, baseless claims about a possible secret relationship, and thousands of screenshots invaded X's, Instagram, and TikTok pages, as if the two had kissed live. This is also the power of Sanremo.

Loredana Berté's standing ovation

Her first time at the Festival was in 1986, when to the notes of Re she left the entire Italian audience open-mouthed by presenting herself in a fake pregnant belly and miniskirt. Last night, her return caused the same stir in the heart of the Sanremo audience, who gave her a standing ovation. Loredana Berté was also rewarded by the press room, which placed her performance on the first step of the podium in the first ranking of Sanremo 2024. A dedication to herself sung loudly in front of ten million people, with "Pazza", drove everyone crazy.

The memes of Il Tre who (didn't) perform at 3

Being the last singer on the lineup during the first evening of Sanremo can be seen as an inconvenience, considering that the program often extends into the early hours of the morning, but since it was announced that Il Tre's performance, competing with "Fragili", would be the last, the singer was not discouraged, and embraced the irony of the situation. From the comment «Next time I'll call myself nine thirty» on Instagram to the post-performance jokes, "Good night or good morning, I don't know", the late hour played in his favor, propelling him into the realm of favorites on social media.