Benidorm Fest is an annual Spanish song contest organised by the Spanish public broadcaster (RTVE), in collaboration with the . Beginning in 2022, it is held in Benidorm, Valencian Community, at the . Inspired by the Benidorm Song Festival, the contest consists of two semi-finals and a final, with the winner jointly determined through teams of judges and a public vote. From 2022 to 2025, it served to select 's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest.
History Background
The event is loosely based on the Benidorm Song Festival, an international song contest created in 1958 and modelled on the Italian Sanremo Music Festival. The competition was held intermittently until 2006, interspersed with several hiatuses and various changes to the format.
Return of a competition to Benidorm Fifteen years after the final edition of the Benidorm Song Festival, (RTVE) broadcast a conference from the city on 22 July 2021, in which the president of the Ximo Puig, mayor of the city Antonio Pérez, and president of the broadcaster José Manuel Pérez Tornero announced the revival of a song competition held in Benidorm, which would also become a new pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, starting with the . During the broadcast, viewers were assured that there would be changes and updates to the contest's format, as well as a "double contest" in which both famous and upcoming singers would take part, whose prize would be the chance to represent Spain at Eurovision.
On 29 September of the same year, the rules and mechanics were published, revealing the name of the revamped competition to be "Benidorm Fest" and that the first edition was scheduled to air at the end of January 2022. It was subsequently announced that a contract had been signed to hold the event for four editions. The invested around €968,000 in the event.
Following the 2024 edition of the competition, representatives of Benidorm's municipal council (including mayor Toni Pérez), the Department of Innovation, Industry, Commerce and Tourism of the Generalitat Valenciana, and RTVE travelled to the 74th Sanremo Music Festival, which also served as the Italian national final for Eurovision; municipal councillor Jesús Carrobles revealed that the aim was to start a collaboration between the two events. The format was thereby confirmed for 2025.
In response to criticism for the low televoting figures in 2024, attributed to the relatively high costs of telephone calls and SMS messages, RTVE managers stated the goal to make the public voting free by means of a mobile app from 2025.
In 2026, RTVE decided not to participate in that year's Eurovision Song Contest due to the inclusion of amidst the Gaza war, though it continued to organise Benidorm Fest independently of the European contest. Thus, whether or not Spain is represented in subsequent Eurovision editions, the Benidorm-based contest would continue to function as a platform for promoting the Spanish music industry. Among the novelties introduced that year were a cash prize awarded to the performers and composers of the winning song, as well as other additional recognitions open to all participants. These included a prize sponsored by Spotify, which allowed one of the artists to record a Spotify Single in Stockholm, and an international promotion initiative that offered another participant the opportunity to travel to the United States to promote their musical project and record a single with a well-known producer under an agreement with TelevisaUnivision. These latter prizes were not necessarily linked to the winner of the competition.
Format The contest consists of two semi-finals and a final, in which a number of candidates – soloists, duos, trios or groups – perform their songs live. In the first edition there were seven entries for each semi-final and eight in the final; for the second edition there were nine songs in each semi-final (for a total number of eighteen entries) and eight in the final. The third and fourth edition featured a reduced number of sixteen entries, eight in each semi-final and final. Since the fifth edition, there are eighteen entries, nine in each semi-final and twelve in the final.
The public (consisting of the televote plus a panel of judges made up of a sample of the Spanish population selected by statistical and demoscopic criteria) and a national and international jury vote for their preferred songs, with the final result determined by a split vote between the public and the juries. At the end of the programme, the song with the most points is declared the winner.
Voting Voting during the three shows occurs through a combination of the following methods:
Expert jury (50%) – heads of delegation, artists, musicians and/or other professionals, involving both national and international members. Demoscopic panel (25%) – composed of a statistically-selected sample of the Spanish population. Public voting (25%) – via telephone and SMS.
Presenters +YearPresenter(s)Ref(s)2022Alaska, Inés Hernand and Màxim Huerta2023Mónica Naranjo, Inés Hernand and Rodrigo Vázquez2024Ruth Lorenzo, Marc Calderó and Ana Prada2025Paula Vázquez, Ruth Lorenzo and Inés Hernand2026Jesús Vazquez, Javier Ambrossi, Inés Hernand and Lalachus
Recurring presenters Presenter Year 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Inés Hernand4 ● ● ● ● Ruth Lorenzo2 ● ●
Visual design and participants +YearLogoParticipantsFinalists2022138202318820241682025 16820261812
Identity Theme music The theme music of Benidorm Fest, entitled "", was composed by the musician Pepe Herrero and it is performed by the RTVE Orchestra and Choir. It is a symphonic piece inspired by classic themes such as "" from Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, combining it with modern compositions by composers such as Hans Zimmer. The lyrics, composed in Latin, highlight the value of music as a means to unite peoples and make them free.
The author produced 15 variations of the piece, of different durations and instrumental templates, for different purposes.
Trophy From 2022 to 2025, the winner of Benidorm Fest received a Bronze Microphone, made by Madrid sculptor José Luis Fernández. It is a 30 centimeters tall piece, cast in bronze and made with lost-wax casting method. Beginning with the 2026 edition, the Golden Mermaid trophy from the Benidorm Song Festival is reused.
Selection of participants RTVE opens a period of submissions for artists, authors and composers to send their proposals to the public radio and television corporation, while the broadcaster itself reserves the right to invite renowned singers and authors from the current music scene directly. Both the evaluation of submissions and the invitations are carried out in collaboration with external musical advisers. The contest is open to performers, groups and authors who are at least 16 years old before May of the current year, and who must be Spanish nationals or have permanent residence in Spain (in the case of duos or groups, at least 50% of the members must meet this condition).
Songs must be original and not have been published, performed or distributed, in whole or in part, before September of the previous year to the Eurovision Song Contest (in accordance with Eurovision rules). In addition, the song must be between 2 and a half and 3 minutes long, and must include at least 60% of the lyrics in Spanish and/or co-official languages of Spain.
Recurring artists
Artist(s) Year Song PlaceBlanca Paloma2022"Secreto de agua"5th place2023"Eaea"1st place Luna Ki 2022 "Voy a morir" Withdrew 2026 "Bomba de amor"
Winners
Year Song Genre Artist Songwriter(s) 2022 "SloMo" Latin pop, reggaeton Chanel 2023 "Eaea" New flamenco Blanca Paloma 2024 "" Synth-pop Nebulossa 2025 "" Latin pop Melody 2026 "" Electronic Tony Grox and LUCYCALYS
Gallery
Finalists Finalists#20222023202420252026 1 "SloMo" Chanel 96"Eaea"Blanca Paloma 169"Zorra"Nebulossa 156"Esa diva"Melody 150"T amare"Tony GroxLucycalys 166 2"Ay mama"Rigoberta Bandini 91"Quiero arder" Agoney145"Dos extraños (Cuarteto de cuerda)" St. Pedro139"Uh nana" Daniela Blasco141"Turista" ASHA144 3"Terra" Tanxugeiras90"Nochentera" Vicco129"Sé quién soy" Angy Fernández128"VIP" J Kbello131"Mataora" Rosalinda Galán140 4"Calle de la llorería" Rayden67"Arcadia" Megara106"Caliente" Jorge González124"I'm a Queen" Mel Ömana117"¿Qué vas a hacer?" Izan Llunas139 5"Secreto De Agua" Blanca Paloma61"Yo quisiera" Alice Wonder89"Brillos platino" Almácor99"Hartita de llorar" Lachispa98"Despierto amándote" Miranda! and Bailamamá118 6"Raffaella" Varry Brava55"Quiero y duelo" Karamento80"Remitente" María Peláe86"Loca xti" Kuve96"El Amor Te Da Miedo" Kitai103 7"Eco" Xeinn45"Inviernos en Marte" José Otero75"Here To Stay" Sofia Coll73"Te escribo en el cielo" Lucas Bun70"Tú no me quieres" The Quinquis93 8"Quién lo diría" Gonzalo Hermida35"Mi familia" Fusa Nocta71"Bla bla bla" Miss Caffeina59"Raggio di sole" Mawot58"Las damas y el vagabundo" María León feat. Julia Medina82 9–"Bailándote" Dani J80 10"Mi Mitad" Mikel Herzog Jr.79 11"Tócame" Mayo64 12"Los ojos no mienten" Kenneth40
Ratings +Viewers in millionsSemi-final 1Semi-final 2Final Year Viewers Share (%) Viewers Share (%) Viewers Share (%) 2022 1.534 11.8% 1.728 14.2% 2.966 21.0% 2023 1.044 10.0% 1.020 09.4% 1.887 14.7% 2024 1.005 10.8% 1.039 10.5% 1.977 16.6% 2025 1.215 13.1% 1.030 11.7% 1.938 17.1%20260.85011.1%0.85711.1%1.08512.1% Notes
References
External links