San Marino participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Spirit of the Night" written by Ralph Siegel, Jutta Staudenmayer and Steven Barnacle. The song was performed by Sammarinese singer Valentina Monetta and American singer Jimmie Wilson, who were internally selected by the Sammarinese broadcaster San Marino RTV to represent the nation in the 2017 contest in Kiev, Ukraine. Valentina Monetta and Jimmie Wilson were internally selected on 12 March 2017, while the song, "Spirit of the Night", was presented to the public on the same day. San Marino was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 11 May 2017. Performing during the show in position 10, "Spirit of the Night" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final.
Background
Prior to the 2017 contest, San Marino had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest seven times since its first entry in. Their debut entry in 2008, "Complice" performed by Miodio, failed to qualify to the final and placed last in the semi-final it competed in. San Marino subsequently withdrew from the contest in 2009 and 2010, returning in 2011 with Italian singer Senit performing "Stand By", which also failed to take the nation to the final. Between 2012 and 2014, San Marino sent Valentina Monetta to the contest on three consecutive occasions, which made her the first singer to participate in three consecutive contests since Udo Jürgens, who competed in 1964, 1965 and 1966 for Austria. Her entries in 2012 and 2013 also failed to qualify San Marino to the final. However, in 2014, Monetta managed to bring San Marino to the final for the first time where she placed 24th with the song "Maybe". In 2015, the nation once again failed to qualify to the final with the song "Chain of Lights" performed by Anita Simoncini and Michele Perniola. In 2016, San Marino failed to qualify with "I Didn't Know" sung by Turkish performer Serhat. The Sammarinese national broadcaster, San Marino RTV, broadcasts the event within San Marino and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. SMRTV confirmed San Marino's participation at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest on 12 March 2017. All of San Marino's entries at the Eurovision Song Contest have, to this point, been selected via internal selection, a procedure which the broadcaster opted for once again to select their 2017 entry.
Before Eurovision
Internal selection
On 12 March 2017, SMRTV held a press conference at SMRTV studios where they announced that they had internally selected Valentina Monetta and Jimmie Wilson with their song "Spirit of the Night". This was Valentina Monetta's fourth participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Between 2012 and 2014, she was sent to represent her country in the contest on three consecutive occasions, which made her the first singer to participate in three consecutive contests since Udo Jürgens, who competed in 1964, 1965 and 1966 for Austria. Her entries in 2012 and 2013 also failed to qualify San Marino to the final. However, in 2014, Monetta managed to bring San Marino to the final for the first time where she placed 24th with the song "Maybe".
Promotion
Valentina Monetta and Jimmie Wilson made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Spirit of the Night" as the Sammarinese Eurovision entry. Between 3 and 6 April, they took part in promotional activities in Tel Aviv, Israel where they performed during the Israel Calling event held at the Ha'teatron venue. On 8 April, they performed during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the Melkweg venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Cornald Maas and Selma Björnsdóttir. On 15 April, they performed during the Eurovision Spain Pre-Party, which was held at the Sala La Riviera venue in Madrid, Spain.
At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2017, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. San Marino was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 11 May 2017, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show. Once all the competing songs for the 2017 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Originally, San Marino was set to perform in position 11, following the entry from Ireland and before the entry from Croatia. However, following Russia's withdrawal from the contest on 13 April and subsequent removal from the running order of the second semi-final, San Marino's performing position shifted to 10. The two semi-finals and the final will be broadcast in San Marino on SMtv San Marino and Radio San Marino with commentary by Lia Fiorio and Gigi Restivo. The Sammarinese spokespersons, who will announce the top 12-point score awarded by the Sammarinese jury during the final, will be also Lia Fiorio and Gigi Restivo.
Points awarded to San Marino
Points awarded by San Marino
Split voting results
The following five members comprised the Sammarinese jury:
