Albanian presenter Alketa Vejsiu will co-host the 70th edition of the iconic Sanremo Music Festival in Italy. Vejsiu and ten more famous women from an array of professional backgrounds will join this year’s main host and artistic director of Sanremo, Amadeus. The festival will take place from 4 to 8 February 2020 in the Ariston Arena in Sanremo.
Vejsiu has a long career as a TV/radio host and producer in Albania. Last month she hosted the latest edition of Festivali i Këngës, the main annual song contest in Albania, and was its artistic director.
“I am happy to bring [on stage] a woman like Alketa, who in Albania is considered like Antonella Clerici [in Italy]. She is a [respected] lady, intelligent and beautiful. A worthy representative from a country like Albania that loves Sanremo,” Amadeus said in a press conference.
Sanremo has been extremely popular in Albania, even during the communist regime. Although the regime had prohibited listening to foreign music, those who owned a radio would try to find a safe place and tune to its broadcast. It still continues to be a popular TV event in the country.
“I am crying tears of joy! It’s the happiest day of my career! Thank you Albania. Thank you Italy,” Vejsiu wrote on Instagram when she got the news.
She will co-host Sanremo on its third night, alongside Amadeus and model Georgina Rodriguez, partner of football player Cristiano Ronaldo.
The list of women hosts will include: Diletta Leotta, Rula Jebreal, Emma D’Aquino, Laura Chimenti, Sabrina Salerno, Monica Bellucci, Georgina Rodriguez, Alketa Vejsiu, Antonella Clerici, Francesca Sofia Novello and Mara Venier.
