5 things you (maybe) missed during the second night of Sanremo 2026 We're still here

Eyelids droop, breathing slows and becomes steady. Are we falling asleep on the couch or is it just the Sanremo Festival? The competition moves forward, the top five has convinced almost everyone... or almost no one, depending on who you ask. Your colleagues at the office only want to know what you thought about Arisa’s look and Dargen D'Amico’s outfit, and whether you knew that Can Yaman once played Sandokan. Tension is sky-high… or almost. With this mood suspended between serious (the kermesse is a mass phenomenon and as such deserves to be analyzed and followed) and resigned (we’re sleepy and our lives must go on), we’re about to recap the second night of Sanremo 2026, the one that aired on Wednesday, February 25. Let’s go!

5 moments you may have missed from the second night of Sanremo 2026

Sanremo Nuove Proposte doesn’t really exist (unfortunately)

For some reason, even though we followed the pre-selections in December and we’re very happy about Angelica Bove’s progress, the Nuove Proposte section of Sanremo - commonly known as Sanremo Giovani - always feels tacked on. Every year we forget the rules and the songs. It exists only for its meager 25 minutes at the start of the show and then disappears. A real shame and a true testament to the Festival’s intrinsic old age, which never quite manages to renew itself, let alone in an edition more conservative and traditionalist than the five-year average.

Is the ad of the year the one with Sabrina Ferilli in Gloria - Il ritorno?

Sabrina Ferilli is by now a living meme, ever since she screamed “Scescilia!” at the top of her lungs in the Canale 5 series A testa alta. Add to that the fact that every year during the Festival social media users crown their favorite commercial, and the result can only be one thing. The promo in which Rai announces the upcoming series Gloria - Il ritorno, featuring Ferilli exclaiming “Advanced age? Your sister!” is a perfect candidate to win the coveted Sanremo ad of the year award. What do you think? The Liguria region segment is excluded from the competition, it would win too easily.

Carlo Conti is (still) very concerned about Italy’s birth rate, apparently

The topic of motherhood, just like last year (when controversy was already rampant), returns again this year in an even more layered and complex way. When Carlo Conti introduced Olympic athletes Francesca Lollobrigida and Lisa Vittozzi, who won two medals for Italy at the recently concluded Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, he couldn’t help but emphasize how important Lollobrigida’s child is to her. An importance the athlete immediately reaffirmed, as if she had felt personally touched by the debate sparked by previous on-screen moments with her son. The core issue, however, is not an offended mother, but rather the pressure that patriarchy and conservative governments place on women, because a mother confined at home not only fulfills her Christian duty but is also easier to manipulate and control. If the Festival mirrors Italy, it inevitably amplifies contemporary cultural and political currents.

Elettra Lamborghini’s bilateral parties

If things seem very calm on the Ariston stage (some would say boring), in the Ligurian town the parties are in full swing. Elettra Lamborghini made that clear with a 3 a.m. Instagram story complaining about the noise, stressing the need for competing artists to sleep and rest. On stage with Voilà, the singer reiterated the point using the expression “bilateral parties,” which Twitter clearly loved. We’ll have to make do with what we get (and maybe sneak into the parties, too).

The fifth thing is boredom, but maybe that’s fine

If it wasn’t already clear, this Sanremo feels old, dusty, stale. It’s the kingdom of those who watch television every night without irony, of Italian TV drama enthusiasts, of syrupy Disney-princess ballads, of centrist and cowardly takes. In short, it’s the Festival of tradition, the one that existed for decades before the Amadeus era. Perhaps less successful, but faithful to its recent history and its older audience. The weakest are already jumping ship, but we’re still here… and yes, here we remain.