Spain was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 with the song "La, la, la", written by and of Dúo Dinámico, and performed by Massiel. The Spanish participating broadcaster, (TVE), internally selected its entry for the contest. The song eventually won the competition, becoming the first song from Spain to achieve this.

Massiel was not the song's original performer as the initial Spanish representative Joan Manuel Serrat was removed after recording, releasing, and promoting the entry for his demand to sing it in Catalan in the contest.

Before Eurovision In late 1967, (TVE) contacted several record labels requesting original songs to participate in the 13th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest to be held in London. Zafiro-Novola sent them a tape with three songs: "Nos falta fe" by Juan y Junior, "Tirititero" by Joan Manuel Serrat, and "La, la, la" by Dúo Dinámico. TVE internally selected "La, la, la" but preferred Serrat as performer. In January 1968, Serrat agreed to be singing "La, la, la" written by and . In addition to the Spanish language version arranged by Bert Kaempfert and produced by Juan Carlos Calderón, he recorded the song in Catalan (with lyrics by Serrat himself), English (with lyrics by Michael Julien), Portuguese, and Italian promoting it throughout Europe.

Serrat was under pressure from a number of Catalanists who labeled him a traitor if he did not sing the entire song in Catalan (a language repressed under the Francoist dictatorship until shortly before). On 25 March 1968, he demanded TVE in an open letter to sing the song in Catalan at the contest as he considering himself above all a Catalan singer, and that, in the event that this was not possible, required TVE to accept his irrevocable resignation. TVE released an answering press note denying any discrimination against Catalan in the network, considering Serrat's decision incorrect and unacceptable since he sought to give a political meaning to his participation, and removed him as their representative.

Therefore, Massiel, who was under contract with Zafiro-Novola and was on tour in Mexico, was brought in as a late replacement. In just a few days, she had to travel back to Spain, learn the song, record it in several languages (Spanish, English, French, and German), travel to several European cities for promotion (starting in Paris), and go to London for the contest rehearsals. During her short stay in Paris she bought a Courrèges dress which she would wear to the contest.

At Eurovision On 6 April 1968, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London hosted by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and broadcast live throughout the continent. Massiel performed "La, la, la", the 15th song that evening, accompanied by (María Jesús Aguirre, María Dolores Arenas, and Mercedes Valimaña) as backing singers, following 's "Chance of a Lifetime" by Pat McGeegan and preceding 's "Ein Hoch der Liebe" by Wencke Myhre. Rafael Ibarbia made the orchestral arrangement of the Spanish entry and conducted the event's orchestra in its performance.

At the close of voting, the song had received 29 points winning the competition, beating the favorite, the 's "Congratulations" by Cliff Richard, by just a single point. Bill Martin (cowriter of the British entry) called the Spanish song "a piece of rubbish".TV Hell. "Nul Points?! A Brief History of the Eurovision Song Contest". BBC documentary. (1992) In Spain, Massiel's triumph against the British was compared to that of Agustina de Aragón against the French Army. This triumph was the first of Spain's two Eurovision wins to date. In her winning reprise, Massiel performed part of the song in English, in addition to the original version, becoming the first winner to do so.

The contest was broadcast on TVE 1 and TVE Canarias, with commentary by . It was also aired on with commentary by José María Íñigo. Before the event, TVE aired a talk show hosted by Jesús Álvarez introducing the Spanish jury from Prado del Rey, which continued after the contest commenting on the results. Although the contest was broadcast in Spain in black and white, since TVE was not yet ready to broadcast in colour, the jury was able to watch it in colour directly from the Eurovision network signal that reached the TVE studios.

Voting TVE assembled a jury panel with ten members, with each member giving one vote to their favourite song. The following members comprised the Spanish jury: Pilar Mirómulticamera director at TVE Feliciano RivillaAtlético Madrid football player Natalia Figueroajournalist director of the writer and illustrator of children's stories (chairperson) José María Forquéfilm director María Rosa Zumárragacontestant of Juan Van-Halen Acedopoet Mara Recaterocontinuity supervisor Rafael CanoSpanish decathlon champion The secretary of the jury and the spokesperson who announced the Spanish votes was Ramón Rivera.

+ Points awarded to Spain Score Country 6 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

+ Points awarded by Spain Score Country 3 points 2 points 1 point

After Eurovision

Immediately after the contest, Massiel went on tour to several European television and radio stations where she sang the song. It was not until two weeks later that she arrived in Madrid where a large crowd welcomed her in Madrid–Barajas Airport. TVE honored her at Prado del Rey where she gave a crowded press conference with the authors of the song and appeared on several shows on the network. The regime awarded her the Ribbon of Dame of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, but she refused to be decorated by Franco himself, so they sent it to her by mail.

All the events related to this participation were dramatized in the Movistar Plus+ television miniseries , starring Carolina Yuste as Massiel and as Joan Manuel Serrat, which premiered on 8 May 2025. The Eurovision performances and rehearsals were recreated in a full-scale replica of the Eurovision stage at the Royal Albert Hall, which was built in a studio specifically for the filming.

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