Sanremo, February 3 - The schedule of big-name appearances at this year's Sanremo Song Festival was announced Monday. Twelve of the 24 big names will debut on Tuesday night, the first night of the festival, and the remaining 12 on Wednesday night. They will each sing twice before the winner is announced on Saturday night. Those making their debut Tuesday are: Achille Lauro, Anastasio, Bugo and Morgan, Diodato, Elodie, Irene Grandi, Raphael Gualazzi, Marco Masini, Rita Pavone, Riki, Vibrazioni, and Alberto Urso. On Wednesday night it will be the turn of Giordana Angi, Francesco Gabbani, Paolo Jannacci, Junior Cally, Elettra Lamborghini, Levante, Enrico Nigiotti, Piero Pelù, Pinguini Tattici Nucleari, Rancore, Tosca, and Michele Zarrillo. Unveiling the line-up, host Amadeus said he had put two pre-festival rows behind him. The first was over an allegedly sexist remark he made about motor-racing legend Valentino Rossi's girlfriend, one of the heavily female line up of his assistants at this year's Sanremo song fest. Presenting Francesca Sofia Novello along with another 10 women at the fest he is hosting again, Amadeus praised her for "taking a step backwards" and not trying to share the limelight with her "great man". He was slammed by feminists, many other entertainers and several politicians. The second row was over Amadeus's inclusion of controversial rapper Junior Cally among the contestants. In lyrics from his 2017 song "Strega Lyrics", the Roman rapper, 29, whose real name is Antonio Signore, uses vulgar and sexual language and describes killing a woman. Again, this provoked censure from Italian female MPs and many others, especially as Amadeus appeared to take the rapper's side. Amadeus said Monday he had not been "wounded" by the rows. "I knew that polemics are part of the festival. But they did not strike me or wound me because I feel that my conscience is clear," he told the press conference presenting the line-up. "What I did and said was not out of lack of respect for anyone, but thinking only of the music". Antonio Marano, the head of advertising for RAI State broadcaster which broadcasts the annual extravaganza, said Monday that he was sure this year's income from ads would beat last year's record 31 million euros. This year's guests will include Tiziano Ferro, Fiorello, Al Bano and Romina Power, Ricchie e Poveri, Zucchero, Dua Lipa, Johnny Dorelli, Roberto Benigni, Massimo Ranieri, Mika, Lewis Capaldi, Biagio Antonacci and Gianna Nannini. The winner of the contest will represent Italy at this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam on May 16.