The 74. candle burned in San Remo…
by Alexandra Romano
The calendars showed January 29, 1951, when the first candle was lit in San Remo. Quietly, a little timidly, but hopefully, a flower was born. The festive flower grew more significant with a new candle lit each year. Finally, that weak flower became so strong that it became the muse of the Eurovision Song Contest. Today, it has turned into a magnificent garden of lights of hope that attracts the world of culture and art for five days…
When the year the festival was born, the Italian Republic was still a baby. However, the country had partially overcome the war’s economic, sociological and psychological collapse and started its economic ascension. These developments were also reflected in social life. The San Remo Music Festival was one of the flowers of hope that spontaneously bloomed in society.
Liguria Municipality wanted to revive tourism in the off-season and increase people’s income. This purpose became a reality with an idea. Radio host Angelo Nizza, who often visits the municipal casino, and Angelo Nicola Amato, event and public relations manager of the Sanremo casino, created a musical event during a meeting. Afterwards, Nicola Amato met with the organizers and record companies in the country and asked them to send their singers to the festival.
When the festival started 74 years ago, it was not taken very seriously due to the spirit of the times. It was considered one of the ‘little getaway’ activities of people with post-war mental disorders. But the festival continued its steady march over the years. It inspired the birth of the Eurovision Song Contest. And today it has turned into one of the most important international festivals. In this process, it has come a long way since 1951; its location, audience, and, above all, the format have changed. It has become a commercial product for thousands of euros.
The first show started at the municipal casino.
The first concert took place on January 29, 1951, in the party hall of the Sanremo Municipal Casino. Its first presenter was Nunzio Filogamo, known for his radio greeting to “friends near and far.” Locals were seated around old tables. The singers were singing. Servers distributed food and drinks to customers between tables. The customers were eating their meals in a rush. No one believed that the event would be a success, and it is even said that for the second evening, the organizers had to persuade the audience to return despite the low cost of the ticket. “The population was so small that it was necessary to find people to sit at the empty tables in the large room,” says Leonardo Campus in his book ‘Non-Solo Canzonette’. Also, only three singers participated in the competition because the songs were competing, not the artists. Nilla Pizzi, Duo Fasano and Achille Togliani performed alternately 20 unpublished works. In addition to the press and music critics of the period, the audience, who continued to eat and chat during the performances, did not show much interest in the event. The voting took place in the room, and the hostesses passed from table to table with urns in which everyone could put their preference ballot. All the songs were released on 78 rpm by a single record company, Cetra, which had the three singers in the competition under contract. The first winner was Nilla Pizzi with the song “Thank you for the flowers”. These songs would take place in various festivals in the following years, from political and social criticism to keeping hope alive.
In 1952, music writers and publishers were vying for admission to the event. Compared to the first festival, it had reached 380 songs in total. The winner was Nilla Pizzi with ‘Vola colomba’ as in the previous year.
This first post from Rai
In 1953, things started to change. The open table system in the room is being removed. Only those with an invitation could enter. Prices were over the counter for an excessive amount of 10,000 lire (about 130 euros today).
This year, double interpretation was required for each piece of music with a different orchestra. The press was also beginning to show interest in the festival, which had more and more competitors and participation. The foundation of the festival was laid. Live broadcasts were coming into play. It was a turning point when Rai contacted the Sanremo Municipal Casino at 10:45 pm two years later. RAI did not broadcast the entire festival, tied to the casino’s casino late, but it was very effective. Thus, the public started talking about the San Remo Festival, discussing and humming the songs.
Inspiration for Eurovision
This effect reached the segments forming the roof of the European Union on the way to unity, and San Remo was the source of inspiration for the Eurovision Song Contest. At the end of the Second World War, the European Coal and Steel Community was formed for peace and economic development in Europe, whose infrastructure and economy collapsed. The countries that joined this community, founded in 1951, were Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Italy. The EU framework would become more concrete with the Treaty of Rome, and the European Atomic Energy Community would be established. In that same year, 1957, the European Economic Community entered the international arena. In the process of building the European Union, this is how the idea of bringing people together with a sparkling entertainment program was born. For this purpose, the European Broadcasting Union is established in Switzerland. The committee met in Monaco in January 1955. In this meeting, the Sanrome Music Festival inspires the competition. And there, the idea of a song contest, which will be broadcast simultaneously on state channels of all the countries that are members of the union television, is embodied. One year later, the Eurovision Song Contest began with this format…
From Al Bano Romina Power to Laura Pausini…
In its fifth year, the festival was broadcast live on radio and television as a national program. The final piece was participating in the Eurovision Song Contest. The festival inspired the Eurovision Song Contest and became the starting point for unforgettable songs and artists. Some of Italy’s most successful artists started their careers with this festival. Many pieces in the competition became hits all over the world. One of the most famous examples is the couple Al Bano & Romina Power and their song Felicita. At the end of the decade, Domenico Modugno took the stage with the excellent Italian song ‘Nel blueprint di blu’, which entered the history of music with its melody and taste of freedom. Laura Pausini debuted at this festival and started climbing the ladder of fame with ‘La solitude. The festival was so important that there were even suicides. Luigi Tenco committed suicide in his hotel room after being eliminated from the competition. He was only 28 years old during the 1967 Italian Song Festival…
The festival, held at the Sanremo Casino between 1951 and 1976, has occurred at the Theater Ariston since 1977. On Sanremo Giacomo Matteotti Street, top artists and song titles over the years are located on the street on yellow plaques. San Remo, the city with Italy’s most crucial flower market, turns into a flower garden during this period.
Come on, join this candle-lit flower garden that will last five days and gift a journey on its historical paths that write hope… Let it be called Sanremo…
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