In a press conference held today by broadcaster RTVE, Spanish Head of Delegation Eva Mora could barely contain her excitement as she revealed that a whopping 886 songs had been submitted for the new national final Benidorm Fest, 692 of which via the online form, and 194 by invitation.
As well as the sheer number of entries that have been submitted, she also explained that “every genre: ballads, flamenco, urban, Latin pop, rock…” has been represented, and that there is a mix of both familiar faces and brand new talent.
Composer and delegation member Tony Sánchez-Ohlsson echoed this sentiment, stating that the level of music is “high, varied, diverse and deserving of Eurovision”, with all members of the panel agreeing it was difficult to decide on the 12 that will eventually be seen live in Benidorm in January.
Artist and creative J Cruz completed the panel, adding that the submitted songs gave him the “playlist everyone wants”, and that he, a trap artist, would love to see something “from the heart and from the street” represent Spain at Eurovision.
It is understood that many songs have clear Spanish roots with a modern sound. Sánchez-Ohlsson stated that, while the delegation reached out to international composers, and that some who have submitted songs are Billboard-charting, there was a priority for homegrown talent.
He explained how he believed that Benidorm Fest should be “for everyone, not just those who watch Eurovision”.
The names of the qualifying artists and composers, as well as the dates for the festival, have yet to be revealed. Mora reminded everyone that “much work still needs to be done”, possibly through Christmas.
Spain has had a variety of national final formats over the years, the most recent being a spin-off of the popular reality TV talent show Operación Triunfo, but this could only earn them 23rd and 22nd place in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
This bad luck continued into 2021, when Blas Cantó’s Voy a quedarme finished 24th, garnering 0 points from the public and just 6 points overall.
This press conference formed part of a series run by RTVE and the Spanish delegation in the run-up to the hotly-anticipated Benidorm Fest and beyond, titled “Eurovisión, el festival que quieres” (Eurovision: The Festival You Want”), designed to ingite public anticipation for the upcoming Contest, for which there has recently been little interest in Spain owing to poor results.
Are you excited for Benidorm Fest? Who do you want to see at the contest in January? Let us know in the comments and on social media.
