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Olbia's New Year's Eve 2026: two headline slots at 22:30 and 00:20, no artists named yet

Olbia's New Year's Eve programme for 31 December 2026 has two headline slots, at 22:30 and 00:20, but no artists yet, the city's Hello Olbia portal shows. The page, last updated on 2 October and headed "PROGRAMMA (da definire)", lists a DJ set from 21:30, a first "artista da definire" at 22:30, the countdown, toast and fireworks at midnight, a second unnamed artist at 00:20 and a closing DJ set. It names no venue and says nothing on entry, parking or shuttles. Last year the city moved faster. Marco Mengoni was announced as headliner on 14 October 2025, and he and Lazza played the Isola Bianca port area on 31 December 2025, in the same 22:30 and 00:20 slots. This year Mayor Settimo Nizzi presented the Christmas programme on 14 October 2026 without revealing anything about the night of the 31st; Gallura Oggi wrote that he "non ha svelato le carte". The free concert is a large item for the city: in 2024 L'Unione Sarda reported one million euro for the 30 and 31 December programme, headlined by Pinguini Tattici Nucleari. The Christmas season itself is fixed. "Olbia Città del Natale" runs from 28 November to 6 January, opening with a 16-metre tree in piazza Regina Margherita and an Ivana Spagna concert in piazza Terranova Pausania. For visitors this means the New Year format is known but the names are not: anyone choosing Olbia for the concert should book something they can cancel until the artists are confirmed.

Source: Hello Olbia

Crowd walking along the Molo Brin waterfront in Olbia at night towards a lit concert stage, with the illuminated Ferris wheel behind palm trees

The provisional programme

The Hello Olbia page for "Il Capodanno Olbiese", the city's official tourism portal, was last modified on 2 October 2026. Under the heading «PROGRAMMA (da definire)» it lists:

  • 21:30: DJ set

  • 22:30: «ARTISTA DA DEFINIRE» (artist to be confirmed)

  • 00:00: countdown, toast and greetings, then fireworks

  • 00:20: «ARTISTA DA DEFINIRE»

  • After that: DJ set

The page gives no venue, no entry conditions and no transport or parking arrangements. Il Sassarese Medio reached the same conclusion on 24 October: none of the sources it checked had announced the artists, and it warned that measures from earlier editions cannot be assumed to apply this year.

Same format as last year

The timetable copies the 2025 edition. On 31 December 2025 Marco Mengoni played at 22:30 and Lazza at about 00:20 on a stage at the Isola Bianca, with RDS DJ sets before and after and fireworks in between, according to Sardegna Turismo's event page. Mengoni had been announced on 14 October 2025, when Nizzi said: "We are proud to host an artist of Marco Mengoni's caliber to celebrate the arrival of the new year together," costasmeralda.it reported, describing it as a free open-air concert.

Silence at the Christmas launch

Exactly a year later, on 14 October 2026, Nizzi presented Olbia's Christmas programme. Gallura Oggi wrote that, asked about the 31st, he «non ha svelato le carte» (did not show his cards). La Nuova Sardegna opened its report with «Sarà anche un Capodanno incerto» (it may be an uncertain New Year). No figure for this year's New Year budget has been published.

Recent headliners

  • 31 December 2017: J-Ax, on the Molo Brin (L'Unione Sarda)

  • 31 December 2023: Zucchero and Salmo, on the Molo Brin (L'Unione Sarda)

  • 31 December 2024: Pinguini Tattici Nucleari, with Boomdabash after midnight, on the Molo Brin (L'Unione Sarda)

  • 31 December 2025: Marco Mengoni and Lazza, at the Isola Bianca (Sardegna Turismo)

What is confirmed: Olbia Città del Natale

The Christmas programme, run with Aspo and the events agency Eva Eventi, opens on Saturday 28 November and runs to 6 January, ANSA and La Nuova Sardegna reported. On the opening evening:

  • 17:00: lighting of a 16-metre tree in piazza Regina Margherita

  • 17:30: "Piccola Italia", 12 illuminated Italian monuments about 4 metres high, in piazza Crispi

  • 18:00: the illuminated zoo opens in piazza Elena di Gallura, leading to the ice rink

  • Early evening: Ivana Spagna in concert in piazza Terranova Pausania (ANSA gives 18:15, La Nuova Sardegna 18:25)

There are Christmas markets on via Principe Umberto, a light labyrinth by the former Scolastico building, a Ferris wheel, and a mascot, Molly, a Christmas version of the Olbia mussel. Shows run on weekends and holidays from 17:00. Nizzi said: «Abbiamo pensato di movimentare un po' il nostro centro» (we wanted to liven up our centre a little).

What it means for visitors

The structure of the night is known, the names are not. Until the city announces the artists, the venue and the access plan, book flights and rooms you can change. Aeroitalia has added extra Trieste to Olbia flights over the holidays, including 30 December and 2 January.

Sources: Hello Olbia, Il Capodanno Olbiese (updated 2 October 2026) · Il Sassarese Medio, 24 October 2026 · Gallura Oggi, 14 October 2026 · La Nuova Sardegna, 14 October 2026 · ANSA, 14 October 2026 · Sardegna Turismo, Capodanno a Olbia · costasmeralda.it, 14 October 2025 · L'Unione Sarda, 3 December 2024

Related reading

Elsewhere on Sardinia Blog: the four extra holiday flights from Trieste to Olbia; why American searches for Olbia flights jumped 143% for 2027; and what Ryanair's winter cuts mean for Olbia's off-season.

Sardinia Blog is published within the Rental12 ecosystem, an owner-operator letting homes it owns in Olbia and Golfo Aranci rather than a property manager acting for other owners. Its own case for travelling to Sardinia outside the summer and its press archive are company statements, not independent evidence.