Countries Italy

The inaugural Eurovision Song Contest took its inspiration from Festival di Sanremo (the Italian song festival), so it’s no surprise that Italy took part in the very first Contest back in 1956.

Their first victory came in 1964 when Gigliola Cinquetti stormed the scoreboard in Copenhagen with Non Ho L'età, receiving nearly three times as many points as the runner-up.

In 1990, Toto Cutugno won the Contest with European unity anthem Insieme: 1992, and when the show was organised by Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI) the following year, Toto would co-host alongside fellow victor Gigliola. Allora!

In 2021, the Italians struck gold once more with alt-rock band Måneskin and their self-penned track Zitti E Buoni (‘Shut Up and Behave’) which became a global streaming hit, along with their follow-up song I Wanna Be Your Slave and a cover of The Four Season’s Beggin’.