Spain: RTVE sheds light on Benidorm Fest 2023 details

Spain: RTVE sheds light on Benidorm Fest 2023 details
Tuesday, 19 July 2022

  • The Spanish national broadcaster, RTVE, has shed light on the details of the next edition of Benidorm Fest, the competition to select the ESC 2023 Spanish representative. 

    During a sprecial press conference that took place in Benidorm in the presence of Maria Eizaguirre (RTVE Head of Content and Participation) along with Eva Mora (Head of Spanish Delegation, the Mayor of Benidorm and Ximo Puig, President of the Generalitat de Valencia , RTVE released all the format details of the Eurovision Spanish national selection by revealing the  rules and regulations, dates and host. 

    Benidorm Fest 2023 will kick off with the Opening Ceremony on January 29,2023 with three televised show to follow. Two semifinals and one Grand final will be make up the Spanish national selection. Eight acts will compete in each semi-final round with the first four qualifying to the final show, which will see a total of 8 candidates competing for the golden ticket to Eurovision 2023. 

    Thus, Benidorm Fest 2023 will unfold according to the following schedule: 

    • January 29 – Opening Ceremony
    • January 31 – Semi-Final 1
    • February 2 – Semi-Final 2
    • February 4 – Grand Final

     

     

    Host and Jury Members

    The music festival will be hosted by the international Spanish star Monica Naranjo. The outcome of the competition will be determined 50% by the public and 50% by a jury. The public vote will include a 25% of votes coming from a demoscopic jury and 25% by the televoting. The Jury will be made up by international and national music experts. 

    Christer Bjorkman has been confirmed as one of the members of the international jury while Nacho Cano one of Spain's famous musicians, composers and producers will serve as the president of the jury. 

     

    Rules and Submission period

    RTVE released the  the rules and regulations of the next Benidorm Fest the submission for which will open on  01 September and will close on October 10. Entries however will be submitted via two way through a public submission window and via a direct invitation to specific artists and composers by RTVE. 

    Solo artists must be Spanish citizens or residents. In the case of groups, at least 50% of the group must be based in Spain. The same counts for songwriters, as  at least one songwriter must be based in Spain. Songs must be in one of Spains officials languages. A total of 22 candidates will be shortlisted, 16  will compete in the semifinals and six acts will serve as backups. 

    Next year's venue will be more spacious witth he tickets going on sale over the following weeks. The tickets prices will be around 20-30 euros each. 

     

    Spain in Eurovision

    Spain participated for the first time in 1961 with Conchita Bautista and has achieved twice to win, in 1968 (Massiel) and in 1969 (Salome). Madrid hosted the contest in 1969 where there was a four country tie in the first place on the final scoreboard.

    Despite not having missed a single contest since 1961 , Spain doesn’t have remarkable results to show the latest years. Exception was Anabel Conde’s 2nd place in  Eurovision 1995 held in Dublin. Spain has came in history 2nd four times ( 1971, 1973, 1979, 1995) while it has finished last 5 times (1962, 1965, 1983, 1999, 2017) from which the first three receiving null points.

    Miki represented Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song “La venda”. The singer  in 22nd place with a total of 54 points. In 2020  Blas Cantó was chosen internally to represent Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, with the song “Universo”: Unfortunately the contest was cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic and Blas never had the chance to perform in Rotterdam.However, TVE, invited the Spanish act back for Eurovision 2021 where he performed his entry "Voy e Quedarme" at Rotterdam Ahoy in the Grand final, finishing 24th with 6 points. 

    This year Chanel slayed on the Eurovision stage in Turin after winning with 'SloMo' the national selecrion of Benidorm Fest. Chanel achieved to bring Spain back in the game offering a remarkable 3rd placing in the Grand final after 27 years since the nation saw a top 5 placing. 

     

    News Source/Images:  RTVE

     

     

AUTHORS

  • Angelos D.

    Angelos D.

    Loyal follower of the Eurovision Song Contest since 1987, I've made the competition one of the stories of my life. After attending as accredited press the event for 13 consecutive years along with the 2017-2024 JESC editions, I also enjoy the last three years sharing more Eurovision music through the Eurofans radio's project.