Spanish broadcaster RTVE have revealed that they have received 886 submissions for their Eurovision 2022 national final Benidorm Fest. 692 submissions for Benidorm Fest came from online while 194 came from direct invitations from RTVE. RTVE have confirmed there is a pleather of genres in the mix from mainstream pop to rock to traditional flamenco.
The submissions are also in a series of languages including Spanish, English, Catalan, Italian, Galician and Basque. Among those competing are former Eurovision artists and new talents, but also writers and composers of big billboard hits.
RTVE held a press conference talking about the submissions and the plans for Benidorm Fest.
What Happens next?
The panel, that was announced earlier in the month of JCruz, Tony Sanchez-Ohlsson and Zahara will narrow the selection down to 12 entries. These entries will compete in Benidorm Fest in two semi finals and a final. The winner of Benidorm Fest will represent Spain at the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, Italy. The winner of Benidorm Fest 2022 will be decided by a combination of a professional jury (both national and international) and online voters.
Tony Sánchez-Ohlsson, who is part of the selection team commented on the songs saying:
“It’s the playlist that everyone would like to listen to”
Tony Sánchez-Ohlsson – On the “Benidorm Fest 2022 selection.
Spain’s Eurovision Journey
Spain debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1961 with Conchita Bautista’s “Estando Contigo”. The country earned its first win in 1968 with Massiel’s “La La La”, and won again in 1969 with Salome’s “Vivo Cantando” in an infamous four-way tie. Although they have yet to win again, Spain earned several 2nd place finishes, most famously with Mocedades’ “Eres tu” in 1973 and Anabel Conde’s “Vuelve conmigo” in 1996.
Spain has been less successful in recent years. Although they achieved two 10th place finishes in 2012 and 2014, the country has not finished above 20th place since 2015, including one last-place in 2017. They finished 24th at the 2021 contest with 6 points from the jury and no televote points.
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News Source: RTVE
Photo Source: EBU/Andres Putting
