in sixth place in 2017. The year after, although not initially a big favourite with the bookmakers, Ermal Meta and Fabrizio Moro returned Italy to the top five with "Non mi avete fatto niente", aided significantly by finishing third in the televote, which heavily counterbalanced the 17th place by the jury, finishing fifth overall. In 2019, Mahmood with "Soldi" placed second with 472 points, Italy's best result since 2011, until Måneskin with "Zitti e buoni" won the contest in 2021 with 524 points. Måneskin's victory marked the band's breakthrough on the international music scene. Mahmood returned in 2022 as the host entrant alongside Blanco, placing sixth with "Brividi". Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. First held in 1951 and itself the basis and inspiration for the Eurovision Song Contest, the festival has often been used as a method of choosing the Italian entry for the European contest, with some exceptions over the years. Since 2015, the winner of the festival has been given the right of first refusal to represent Italy in the contest. Italy and the "Big Five" Since 1999, four countries – , , and the – have automatically qualified for the Eurovision final regardless of their results in previous contests. These countries earned this special status by being the four biggest financial contributors to the EBU, and subsequently became known as the "Big Four". In a meeting with OGAE Serbia in 2007, then-Executive Supervisor of the Contest Svante Stockselius stated that, if Italy were to return to the contest in the future, the country would also automatically qualify for the final, becoming part of a "Big Five". However, with the official announcement of the return of Italy, it was not confirmed whether the country would compete in one of the two semi-finals or be part of the "Big Five", as RAI, third largest contributor to the EBU, had not applied for "Big Five" membership. On 31 December 2010, it was announced that Italy would take part in the and confirmed that the country would automatically qualify for the final as part of the "Big Five". Italy is currently the most successful Big Five country in the Eurovision Song Contest following the introduction of the rule, finishing in the top ten in nine of the last eleven contests (2011–22),