Third Benidorm Fest picks Spanish Eurovision song on 3 February

Mock up of the stage

Benidorm Fest 2024, the third edition of what we have to now assume will be an annual Spanish song contest, promises to be an exciting event for music enthusiasts and Spanish Eurovision fans. Organised and broadcast by RTVE, the show will take place between 30 January and 3 February 2024 in Benidorm, Spain, and the winner gets to represent Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024.

Two semi-finals

Benidorm Fest 2024The competition will include two semi-finals on 30 January and 1 February 2024, with a grand final on 3 February 2024. A total of 16 candidate songs, divided evenly between the two semi-finals, will compete. The four songs with the most votes in each semi-final—determined by a professional jury (50%), a demographic panel (25%), and televote (25%)—will qualify for the final. The same voting system will be used in the final to determine the overall winner.

Participants

The list of participants for Benidorm Fest 2024 was revealed in a grand manner. On 11 November 2023, at the Alameda Theatre in Seville, during the 2023 Latin Grammy Awards, RTVE’s head of communications María Eizaguirre introduced the selected contestants.

Almácor
Angy Fernández
Dellacruz
Jorge González
Lérica
Mantra
María Peláe
Marlena
Miss Caffeina
Nebulossa
Noan
Quique Niza
Roger Padrós
Sofía Coll
St. Pedro
Yoly Saa

The event featured performances by some of the participants from the previous editions of Benidorm Fest, including 2023 winner Blanca Paloma, who performed her new single “¡Ay amor!”.

Rules

In preparation for this event, RTVE published the rules and regulations on 11 May 2023, opening a submission window from 16 May until 10 October 2023. The broadcaster also reserved the right to invite renowned singers and authors from the current music scene and organized a songwriting camp in September 2023, open to both local and international composers. This resulted in an impressive 825 entries being received, 23 of which were composed at the songwriting camp.

In case you were wondering – the songs will ‘drop’ online from 14 December – just in time for Christmas!

Benidorm Fest 2024 is set to offer a diverse range of musical styles and performances, showcasing the depth of talent in the Spanish music industry. The event’s significance extends beyond just selecting Spain’s Eurovision entry; it serves as a platform for artists to gain exposure and recognition on a national and international level. The festival’s blend of jury and public voting aims to balance professional opinion with popular appeal, making it a transparent and democratic selection process. With its growing popularity and impact, Benidorm Fest is quickly becoming a key event in the European music calendar.