| Sanremo Music Festival 2009 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dates | |
| Semi-final 1 | 17 February 2009 |
| Semi-final 2 | 18 February 2009 |
| Semi-final 3 | 19 February 2009 |
| Semi-final 4 | 20 February 2009 |
| Final | 21 February 2009 |
| Host | |
| Venue | Teatro Ariston Sanremo, Liguria, Italy |
| Presenter(s) | Paolo Bonolis and Luca Laurenti |
| Musical director | Bruno Santori |
| Artistic director | Gianmarco Mazzi |
| Host broadcaster | Rai 1, Rai Radio 1, Rai Radio 2 |
| Big Artists section | |
| Number of entries | 16 |
| Voting system | Mixed (popular jury and televotes) |
| Winner | Marco Carta "La forza mia" |
| Newcomers' section | |
| Number of entries | 8 |
| Voting system | Mixed (jury of journalists, joury of radio experts and televotes) |
| Winner | Arisa "Sincerità" |
| Sanremofestival.59 | |
| Number of entries | 90 |
| Voting system | Televotes |
| Winner | Ania "Buongiorno gente" |
The Sanremo Music Festival 2009 (Italian: Festival di Sanremo 2009), officially the 59th Italian Song Festival (59º Festival della canzone italiana), was the 59th annual Sanremo Music Festival, held at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo between 17 and 21 February 2009, and broadcast by Rai 1. It was hosted by Paolo Bonolis and Luca Laurenti. Bonolis, supported by Gianmarzo Mazzi, was also the artistic director of the contest.
The competition was divided into two different sections. The Big Artists section included sixteen well-known singers, performing a previously unheard song, and it was won by Marco Carta's "La forza mia". The Newcomers section, featuring ten debuting or little known artists, was won by Arisa, performing the song "Sincerità". For the first time, a third section was added. Called Sanremofestival.59, it was completely held through the web, and it was won by Ania with the song "Buongiorno gente".
The first half of the inaugural episode was the most viewed TV programme in Italy in 2009, with more than 14 million viewers.[1] The last night of the show was also broadcast live by RTV21 in Albania, RTK in Kosovo and by RSI in Switzerland.[2]
- ^ "Ascolti tv, i più visti nel 2009". TGCOM (in Italian). 1 January 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
- ^ "Sanremo 2009, la serata finale in eurovisione e nel mondo" (in Italian). Riviera24.it. 21 February 2009. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.