It is all ready. Tonight, Tuesday 6 February, it will begin Sanremo 2024. The 74th edition of the Festival promises to be record-breaking once again. The goal is to beat the very high share of last year, when the trio Amadeus – Gianni Morandi – Chiara Ferragni managed to exceed, on the final evening, an average of 66%, the highest since 1997. What would it mean to reach it? Being able to once again talk about success, but above all being able to make the money spent work and be able to raise the bar (again) for next year's edition after the increases in advertising space rates already established for Sanremo 2024.
Yes, because after having racked up loss after loss, in the last few years the Festival has transformed into a very profitable business for Rai, in which despite high but acceptable costs, three times (and more) higher revenues are obtained. The dream of every company, in short.
How much does Sanremo 2024 cost?
But before talking about takings, it is worth taking a look at the expenses: how much does Sanremo 2024 cost e how much Rai spends for the most anticipated television event of the year? In the latest editions, state TV has spent around 17 million euros to organize the Festival. This year the figure is expected to rise up to almost 20 million euros. Why? First to weigh is inflation: the increase in consumer prices which weighs on the shopping carts of ordinary citizens has also been felt between Viale Mazzini and the Ariston Theatre. Secondly, the number of contestants competing this year has increased from 27 to 30, which has had an impact (albeit minimally) on the show's costs.
But let's take a look at the individual expense items. The highest is undoubtedly the one relating to agreement with the municipality of Sanremo, for which Rai spends just over every year 5 million euro, a figure that also includes the rent of the famous Ariston Theater (1,6 million).
How much does Amadeus earn for Sanremo 2024?
Among the "exits" we must also consider the salary of the host and artistic director of the Festival. Amadeus he has been at the helm of Sanremo since 2020 and it is precisely to him that the public and professionals attribute the rebirth of the event, which from a dated and somewhat âgé event has transformed into an event followed by young people and omnipresent on social media (FantaSanremo docet), becoming a showcase that Italian singers (and their record companies) who climb the Spotify & Co. charts do not want and do not intend to give up. An enormous job done by Amadeus who is therefore adequately remunerated.
In this context, one thing must be taken into account: he, as mentioned, is not only the host of the Festival, but is also the artistic director. This means that his work does not begin and end with the five evenings of Sanremo, but continues for months and involves the entire organization of the festival. It is he who decides who to invite, it is he who chooses singers, guests and co-hosts. It is he who gives the event that character cool that we have come to know. For all this, last year, Amadeus' compensation was around 500-600 thousand euros (the official figures are not revealed by Rai). For this year, which according to the latest rumors could also be the last, Amadeus should earn around 700 thousand euros.
Sanremo 2024: who are they and what are the salaries of co-hosts, guests and singers?
The other most important expense items concern co-hosts, guests and competing singers. Let's start from the first: Marco Mengoni, Giorgia, Lorella Cuccarini, Teresa Mannino e Fiorello to close on the final evening. Second the print, the costs for co-management will be between 180 thousand and 200 thousand euros. The three women should earn around 25 thousand euros each. The rest will be divided between the Lazio singer and the Sicilian showman. For the latter in particular, there are rumors of a fee of 100 thousand euros.
Let's move on to guests and super-guests: the actors Russell Crowe e John Travolta on everyone and then Giovanni Allevi, Roberto bolle, Eros Ramazzotti, Gigliola Cinquetti. Cachet? From 50 to 100 thousand euros. Except for the actor de Gladiator who according to rumors should participate in the festival for free in exchange for the performance of his blues band, the "Indoor Garden Party". On the compensation of the protagonist of Pulp Fiction e Saturday night feverHowever, there is no news. The last time you participated in the Festival, in 2006, you received 450 thousand euros. Finally, approximately 50 thousand euros should go to Eros Ramazzotti.
Chapter singers in competition: there are no compensations for the 30 singers who will take the stage at the Ariston Theatre. For all of them, however, there will be a reimbursement of expenses from 58 thousand euros, including 5 thousand euros earmarked for the duet evening.
Sanremo 2024: how much does Rai collect from the Festival? Record revenues
Considering all the different expenditure items, the cost of Sanremo 2024 is between 17 and 20 million euros. High? Yes if there are no other terms of comparison - such as the Football World Cup for the rights of which Rai spent 150 million obtaining slightly higher shares - and above all if revenues are not taken into account. In 2020 Rai collected 37-38 million euros, in 2021 the round figure was reached: 40 million. In 2022 the takings rose to 42 million and then made the big leap in 2023 with 50 million. And in 2024? According to the estimates of the media centers (those responsible for distributing advertising ed.) reported by Sun 24 Hours, the goal would be to achieve i 56 million euros in revenues. the print it could even reach 60 million euros. Both figures would still be considered a huge success for Rai.
Sanremo 2024: how much does advertising cost?
The basis of the new collection boom is as per tradition advertising. Rai, as happened last year, is overbooked, meaning it has more requests than space available. All this despite the fact that compared to 2023, the Rai Advertising price list has been adjusted upwards by 8%. Also not to be forgotten are the sponsors and the various local partnerships signed with top companies and the digital packages, for which the state TV advertising agency has decided to focus on a premium positioning. Costa Crociere, Generali, Eni with Enilive and Plenitude and Suzuki are the institutional partners, Sephora and VeraLab are respectively make-up and skincare partners. All companies already present last year, to which Mutti and Coca-Cola will also be added in 2024.
But let's get to the numbers: how much does a package of commercials cost (which includes several passages) broadcast during one of the 5 evenings of Sanremo 2024? It depends on when they air, what type they are and how long they last: there are the opening golden minutes, the internal breaks (9 in total), the telepromotion, the billboard and the closing break of the final. There lowest rate is 35.490 euros before closing on Saturday 10 February. Then there are those of 748.930 euros for the "five plus five" at 23.50 pm and so on. The highest price? Those who opted for 10 passes plus 10 between 22.45pm and 00.15am had to shell out almost 2 million euros. To be precise: 1.910.000 euro.
Sanremo 2024: how much do tickets for the Ariston Theater cost?
But Rai's revenues from Sanremo are not limited only to advertising, sponsors and partnerships. There are also tickets to attend the show which, as happened with the commercials, have undergone an upward adjustment, both for single sales and for subscriptions.
How much do tickets for Sanremo 2024 cost? It would be better to say they were expensive, given that the sale has ended and the Ariston is already sold out. In any case, the price varies depending on the location and the evening. For the first four, i.e. from Tuesday 6 February to Friday 9 February, single tickets for the audience cost 200 euros, those for the gallery 110 euros. For the final evening on Saturday 10 February, however, the price increases respectively to 730 euros for the stalls and 360 euros for the gallery.
the subscription for all five evenings in the stalls the cost is 1.530 euros (in 2023 they were 1.290), for those in the gallery it is 800 euros (from 672 last year).
Overall, between single tickets and subscriptions, Rai should earn more 2 million euros.
