San Marino in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024
Eurovision Song Contest 2024
Participating broadcaster	San Marino RTV (SMRTV)
Country	San Marino
Selection process	Una voce per San Marino2024
Selection date	24 February 2024
Competing entry
Song	"11:11"
Artist	Megara
Songwriters	Isra Dante Ramos Solomando Roberto la Lueta Ruiz Sara Jiménez Moral
Placement
Semi-final result	Failed to qualify (14th)
Participation chronology
◄2023 • 2024 •2025►

San Marino was represented at theEurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song "11:11", performed by the Spanish bandMegara. The song was written by Isra Dante Ramos Solomando, Roberto la Lueta Ruiz, and Sara Jiménez Moral. The nation's participating broadcaster,San Marino RTV (SMRTV), organised the national final formatUna voce per San Marino in collaboration with Media Evolution S.r.l. to select its entry. Over 700 candidate entries from 31 countries were submitted for consideration to the event, which consisted of five semi-final rounds, a second chance round and a final round, all airing in February 2024.

Promotion of the entry consisted of a tour of a selection of nations participating in the contest, including Denmark, England, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands. San Marino was drawn to compete in thesecond semi-final of the contest, which took place on 9 May 2024. Performing during the show at position 10 in the running order, "11:11" did not qualify to compete in the final. It placed 14th out of the 16 participating countries in its semi-final and received 16 points total.

Prior to the 2024 contest,San Marino RTV (SMRTV) had participated in theEurovision Song Contest representing San Marino 13 times since its first entry in2008.^[1] Its debut entry in the2008 contest, "Complice" performed byMiodio, failed to qualify for the final and placed last in the first semi-final.^[1] SMRTV subsequently did not participate in both the2009 and2010 contests, citing financial difficulties.^[2][3] It returned in2011 with "Stand By" by Italian singerSenit, which also failed to take the country to thefinal.^[1] From 2012 to 2014, SMRTV sentValentina Monetta to the contest on three consecutive occasions.^[4] Monetta's first two entries failed to qualify to the final, however in2014, she managed to bring San Marino to the final for the first time with "Maybe", which eventually placed 24th.^[1]

Following four consecutive non-qualifying years, San Marino qualified for the final for the second time at theEurovision Song Contest 2019, where "Say Na Na Na" bySerhat –representing San Marino for a second time– finished in 19th place.^[1] For the2020 contest, "Freaky!" by Senhit was to represent the nation, though following the contest cancellation as a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic, SMRTV re-selected Senhit for2021.^[5] Her 2021 song, "Adrenalina", performed alongside American rapperFlo Rida, qualified for the final, eventually placing 22nd. The Sammarinese2022 and2023 entries, "Stripper" byAchille Lauro and "Like an Animal" byPiqued Jacks, both failed to qualify for the final.^[1] Since the 2022 contest, SMRTV has used the televised national final-style eventUna voce per San Marino to select its entry, and in August 2023 it confirmed that the selection event would continue to be used for the 2024 contest.^[6]

The final round ofUna voce per San Marino2024 was hosted by Fabrizio Biggio and Melissa Greta Marchetto.

Una voce per San Marino2024 was the third edition of the national selection format developed by SMRTV and Media Evolution S.r.l. to determine the Sammarinese entry to the Eurovision Song Contest. It consisted of four semi-finals for foreign nationals – followed by a second chance round – and one semi-final reserved for Sammarinese nationals. All rounds took place at theSala Polivalente Little Tony inSerravalle on 15 and 16 February 2024,^[7][8][9] and were hosted by Ilenia De Sena and Camilla Spinelli.^[10] They were then aired daily between 19 and 23 February,^[11] culminating with the final at theTeatro Nuovo inDogana on 24 February 2024, hosted byFabrizio Biggio andMelissa Greta Marchetto [it], which saw eight established artists and eight newcomers (one being from San Marino) compete. A jury vote determined the qualifiers from the semi-finals and the winner of the final.^[7][12][13] Outside San Marino, the final was broadcast on GlitterBeam Radio in the United Kingdom.^[14]

The selection of semi-finalists first consisted of an audition phase for emerging artists between 10 November 2023 and 23 January 2024, where 129 entries qualified for the semi-finals; applications were open between 10 October 2023 and 14 January 2024, by which date over 700 submissions had been received from at least 31 countries. There were no restrictions on the nationality of the performer or the language of the song. Established artists were instead directly invited to the final by Media Evolution S.r.l.^{[7][12][15][16]} Live auditions took place at San Marino Outlet Experience in four rounds: the first from 10 to 12 November 2023, the second from 1 to 3 December 2023, the third from 12 to 14 January 2024 and the fourth from 18 to 20 January 2024;^[17] an additional online round was held on 22 and 23 January 2024.^[18] A professional jury then selected the semi-finalists, and it was composed of music producers Domenico "Mimmo" Paganelli, Domenico "Mimmo" Gallotti and Nabuk.^[19] In addition to the regular selection process, SMRTV also launched a collaboration with London-based music tech startup Casperaki, namedThe San Marino Sessions, to determine an additional finalist.^[20] Starting on 19 November 2023 and until the final of 24 February 2024, SMRTV aired a 15-minute daily broadcast presenting the participating artists, hosted by rapperIrol [it].^[21][22][23]

On 30 January 2024, SMRTV announced the names of the 129 acts that had been selected to progress to the semi-final stage, most being from Italy, as well as the semi-final they would take part in.^[24] The shows were filmed on 15 and 16 February 2024 and aired between 19 and 23 February 2024.^[11][25] One finalist was selected from each semi-final, and four acts from each semi-final were selected to move on to the second chance round.^[26]

Key:  Finalist  Second chance  Absent

The second chance round was held on 16 February 2024 and aired on 23 February 2024, with three more artists advancing to the final.^[9][32]

The San Marino Sessions was an experimental selection launched by SMRTV in collaboration with Casperaki to determine one of the finalists ofUna voce per San Marino2024. From 27 November 2023 until January 2024, interested artists could submit anything from short recordings to complete compositions, with the dedicated platform, powered byartificial intelligence, helping to enhance them. By 9 January 2024, a committee selected the ten best suggestions to take part in a songwriting camp hosted by producersTommyD and Stefan Moessle in London between 18 and 21 January 2024, where they came down to four full compositions; the jury ofUna voce per San Marino, helped by feedback from the public, then selected one of these to qualify for the final, announced along the other pre-qualifiers on 19 February 2024.^{[20][33][34][35]}

The final ofUna voce per San Marino took place on 24 February 2024 and consisted of the eight competing established artists from the semi-finals and second chance round plus theSan Marino Sessions qualifier, who had been announced on 19 February 2024 at a press conference inMilan.^[35][37] The winner of the final wasMegara with the song "11:11",^[38] written by Isra Dante Ramos, Solomando, Roberto la Lueta Ruiz andSara Jiménez Moral.^[39] The professional jury consisted ofCelso Valli (chair), Anna Bianchi, Clarissa Martinelli,John Vignola [it] and Steve Lyon.^[40]Mogol andAl Bano, who chaired the jury in the two previous editions, made an appearance as guests.^[41]Piqued Jacks (2023 winners) opened the show performing their winning entry "Like an Animal", they also performed their new release "Aria" during the interval;Piccolo Coro dell'Antoniano,Riccardo Cocciante andFilippo Graziani [it] also performed as interval acts.^[42]

The final also saw several acts receive special awards for their participation. These included the San Marino Outlet Experience prize for the best look toJalisse, theOGAE Italy prize and the Critics' prize toLoredana Bertè, the Febal Casa prize (awarded by Radio San Marino) for the most radio-friendly song to La Rua, and the Ludovico Di Meo prize (awarded by San Marino RTV) for the best emerging act to Megara.^[38]

As part of the promotion of their participation in the contest, Megara attended the PrePartyES inMadrid on 30 March 2024,^[43] theBarcelona Eurovision Party on 6 April 2024^[44] and theLondon Eurovision Party on 7 April 2024.^[45] This was followed by the Eurovision in Concert event inAmsterdam on 13 April 2024,^[46] the Nordic Eurovision Party inStockholm on 14 April 2024^[47] and theCopenhagen Eurovision Party (Malmöhagen) on 4 May 2024.^[48] In late April 2024, "11:11" was revamped in collaboration with producer Jose Pablo Polo ahead of the contest, with the new version to premiere directly at Eurovision.^[49]

TheEurovision Song Contest 2024 took place at theMalmö Arena inMalmö, Sweden, and consisted of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 7 and 9 May and the final on 11 May 2024.^[50] All participating countries, except the host nation and the "Big Five", consisting ofFrance,Germany,Italy,Spain, and theUnited Kingdom, were required to qualify from one of two semi-finals to compete for the final; the top 10 countries from their respective semi-finals progressed to the final.^[51] On 30 January 2024, an allocation draw was held to determine which of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show, each country would perform in.^[52] TheEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into different pots based on historical voting patterns from previous contests, in an attempt to reduce the likelihood ofneighbourly voting and to increase suspense.^[53] San Marino was scheduled for the second half of the second semi-final.^[54] The shows' producers then decided the running order for the semi-finals; San Marino was set to perform in position 10.^[55]

In San Marino, all the shows of the contest were broadcast onSan Marino RTV, as well as on the broadcaster's streaming platform RTV Play,^[56] with commentary by Lia Fiorio and Gigi Restivo.^[57] As part of the Eurovision programming, from 23 April until the contest, SMRTV broadcastTicket to Eurovision, a show discussing the participating countries.^[58]

Megara took part in technical rehearsals on 30 April and 3 May,^[59][60] followed by dress rehearsals on 8 and 9 May.^[61] Their performance of "11:11" at the contest was staged by Javier Pageo, who had previously staged the performance forSpain in the 2023 junior contest.^[62] It featured black and pink outfits, LED lighting andpyrotechnics.^[59][63] The theme was set around a fantasy world with dragons and trees.^[60]

San Marino performed in position 10, following the entry fromLatvia and before the entry fromGeorgia.^[55] The country was not announced among the top 10 entries in the semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final.^[64]

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding sets of points from 1–8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting in the final vote, while the semi-final vote was based entirely on the vote of the public. As San Marino shares its telephone system with Italy, the country's jury votes were used during the semi-final, while at the final an aggregate televote created using the televotes of neighbouring countries was used.^[65][66] The Sammarinese jury consisted of Augusto Ciavatta, Viola Conti, Michele Giardi, Nicola Giaquinto, and Camilla Ortolani.^[67] These members were music industry professionals who are Sammarinese citizens, and each jury and individual jury member were required to meet a set of EBU criteria regarding professional background and diversity in gender and age. Additionally, no member of the national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they could not vote impartially and independently.^[68]

In the second semi-final, San Marino placed 14th with 16 points. Over the course of the contest, San Marino awarded its 12 points to theSwitzerland in the second semi-final, and to Switzerland (jury) andIsrael (aggregate televote) in the final.^[69][70] Kida served as the Sammarinese spokesperson, announcing the votes awarded by the Sammarinese jury during the final.^[71]

Points awarded to San Marino (Semi-final 2)^[69]

Score	Televote
12 points
10 points	Spain
8 points
7 points
6 points
5 points
4 points
3 points	Georgia
2 points	Rest of the World
1 point	Italy

Points awarded by San Marino (Semi-final 2)[69] Score Jury 12 points   Switzerland 10 points  Netherlands 8 points  Armenia 7 points  Denmark 6 points  Czechia 5 points  Norway 4 points  Malta 3 points  Latvia 2 points  Albania 1 point  Estonia

Points awarded by San Marino (Final)[70] Score Aggregated televote Jury 12 points  Israel   Switzerland 10 points  Ukraine  Italy 8 points  Croatia  Armenia 7 points  Greece  Ireland 6 points  France  Spain 5 points   Switzerland  Portugal 4 points  Cyprus  Finland 3 points  Italy  Cyprus 2 points  Ireland  Sweden 1 point  Lithuania  Germany

Detailed voting results from San Marino (Semi-final 2)^[69]

Draw	Country	Jury
		Rank	Points
01	Malta	7	4
02	Albania	9	2
03	Greece	12
04	Switzerland	1	12
05	Czechia	5	6
06	Austria	14
07	Denmark	4	7
08	Armenia	3	8
09	Latvia	8	3
10	San Marino
11	Georgia	13
12	Belgium	15
13	Estonia	10	1
14	Israel	11
15	Norway	6	5
16	Netherlands	2	10

Detailed voting results from San Marino (Final)^[70]

Draw	Country	Jury							Aggregated televote
		Juror A	Juror B	Juror C	Juror D	Juror E	Rank	Points	Rank	Points
01	Sweden	16	11	3	14	14	10	2	14
02	Ukraine	26	5	13	25	12	16		2	10
03	Germany	25	7	22	3	20	11	1	23
04	Luxembourg	7	9	21	12	11	15		18
05	Netherlands ‡[a]	20	10	2	2	5	3		N/A
06	Israel	11	21	26	26	26	24		1	12
07	Lithuania	5	16	8	15	23	14		10	1
08	Spain	3	23	14	8	8	6	6	13
09	Estonia	23	22	25	18	10	23		20
10	Ireland	10	6	9	9	2	5	7	9	2
11	Latvia	13	13	15	20	13	20		12
12	Greece	17	14	6	23	17	19		4	7
13	United Kingdom	15	18	12	17	15	21		21
14	Norway	8	8	5	19	22	12		22
15	Italy	1	1	11	5	1	2	10	8	3
16	Serbia	9	17	23	24	24	22		17
17	Finland	18	19	16	6	3	8	4	16
18	Portugal	6	2	19	21	21	7	5	24
19	Armenia	4	3	4	16	16	4	8	11
20	Cyprus	14	15	17	4	7	9	3	7	4
21	Switzerland	2	4	1	1	6	1	12	6	5
22	Slovenia	24	20	20	22	18	26		25
23	Croatia	12	25	24	7	4	13		3	8
24	Georgia	22	24	18	13	25	25		15
25	France	19	12	7	11	19	17		5	6
26	Austria	21	26	10	10	9	18		19

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