Italian broadcaster RAI announced in October 2017 that the winning performer(s) of the Big Artists section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2018 would earn the right to represent the nation at the Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon, Portugal.

Since 2015, the winning artist of the Sanremo Music Festival is rewarded with the opportunity to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest, although in 2016 the winner declined and the broadcaster appointed the runner-up as the Italian entrant.

On 12 October 2017, Italian broadcaster RAI confirmed that the performer that would represent Italy at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest would be selected from the competing artists at the Sanremo Music Festival 2018.

Among the competing artists were former Eurovision Song Contest entrants who represented Italy: Riccardo Fogli in 1983, Luca Barbarossa in 1988, Enrico Ruggeri, frontman of Decibel in 1993, and Nina Zilli in 2012.

[4] The performers in the "Big Artists" category were: During the final evening of the Sanremo Music Festival 2018, Ermal Meta and Fabrizio Moro were selected as the winners with the song "Non mi avete fatto niente".