The show was presented by Mike Bongiorno (at his eleventh and final hosting of the festival), supported by Piero Chiambretti and Valeria Marini.
Composers Pino Donaggio and Giorgio Moroder and lyricist Carla Vistarini served as the artistic directors.
The 1997 jury was headed by Luciano Pavarotti and consisted of Bill Conti, Gino Paoli, Nicola Piovani and Mario Missiroli (who replaced Gabriele Salvatores, who suffered a flu).
[1] For the newcomers, only the winner was revealed; for the big artists section, initially only the first three positions were announced, while the complete final ranking was disclosed only several weeks after the end of the festival.
[1] As a result of their victory, Jalisse were eligible to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997, in which they eventually ranked fourth.