🇪🇸 Benidorm Fest 2023 semi-finals revealed

As the opening night of Benidorm Festival 2023 approaches, RTVE have revealed the semi-final draws for this year’s competition.

Semi-Final 1

Semi-Final 2

The first semi-final of Benidorm Fest will be held on January 31st, with the second following on February 2nd. Of these, four songs will qualify for the final, held on February 4th. RTVE previously revealed that 876 entries were received for this year’s competition.

The finalists and winner will be decided through an international jury (weighted 50%), a demographic jury (weighted 25%) and a public televote (weighted 25%). The professional jury will be headed by composer, musician and record producer Nacho Cano. Christer Björkman will also be amongst the jury members.

Benidorm Fest 2023 will be hosted by singer Mónica Naranjo, alongside comedian Inés Hernand and presenter Rodrigo Vázquez.

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 tú” 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. This poor running streak was broken, however in 2022, when Chanel finished in 3rd place with 459 points from the jury and televoters with her song “SloMo”.

What do you think of the semi-finals Benidorm Fest this year? Who would you like to see qualify for the final? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow “That Eurovision Site” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tiktok as we gear up for Eurovision 2023!

News Source: RTVE

Photo Credit: RTVE