After being declared the winner of Sanremo 2025, Olly had until February 23 to decide whether he would represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel. Yesterday, Olly announced on his social media that he had decided to give up the opportunity to participate in Eurovision.

The winner of the Italian music show is not automatically their representative as they have the choice to decline the opportunity to fly the Italian flag at Europe's favourite televised music competition if they wish. This is the first time since 2016 that the winner of the Sanremo Festival has chosen not to represent Italy in the competition.

"I have decided to give up the opportunity to participate in Eurovision, knowing that it is one of those things that probably only happens once in a lifetime. I thank those who voted for me and gave me the opportunity to have this privilege: I hope to see you soon at one of my concerts to return all the love I receive these days," Olly wrote in a post on Instagram.

“For me, this decision is my way of listening to myself and perhaps also my crooked way of saying thank you. Some would say I'm giving up on a dream, but I think I've simply chosen to live it in my own time.
I wish great luck to whoever takes my place: music in Italy is full of wonderful artists and this year's cast is the most sincere proof of that. Always believe! Something is changing and it's clear to everyone.
I hug you and see you on tour, Federico,” he concluded.

Who will represent Italy instead of Olly at Eurovision?

A total of 29 songs competed in the 75th edition of the Sanremo Festival, which traditionally took place at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo. After five nights of the festival, the final results were as follows:

1. Olly - "Balorda nostalgia" - 23.8%
2. Lucio Corsi - "Volevo essere un duro" - 23.4%
3. Brunori Sas - "L'albero delle noci" - 20.3%
4. Fedez - "Battito" - 17.7%
5. Simone Cristicchi - "Quando sarai piccola" - 14.8%

RAI expressed gratitude to Olly for his contribution to the 75th edition of the Festival di Sanremo and wished him a long and successful career, and in addition, the broadcaster congratulated the show's runner-up Lucio Corsi for accepting the opportunity to represent Italy at the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, being their 50th representative in the song contest.

You can listen to his song "Volevo essere un duro" below:

Lucio Corsi is a 31-year-old Tuscan singer-songwriter from Val di Campo di Vetulonia. In 2012, after being the guitarist of several bands, he moved to Milan. He released his first two mini-albums, "Vetulonia Dakar" and "Altalena Boy" in 2015 and two years later the album "Bestiario Musicale". In 2020, he released his second studio album, "Cosa faremo da grandi?" and in 2023 his third album "La Gente Che Sogna" saw the light of day.