As Spain prepares for its participation at the Eurovision 2023 final, it has been revealed that RTVE allocated €733,000 to take part in the Contest.
Dizzying financial heights for RTVE
Figures obtained by Spanish website Publico.es showed that in total, RTVE is spending €732,940 on Eurovision 2023. For transparency, RTVE has released the cost of participation every year since 2011. Based on these figures, Blanca Paloma’s performance will be the second-most expensive participation for Spain in the past decade. Only Miki, who represented Spain in Tel Aviv in 2019, had a more costly performance – reaching €782,044.47.
The reasoning behind the increase in figures relate to the cost of living crisis, as well as increased costs towards the EBU. These costs are due to Russia’s suspension from the Contest, which has driven up expenses for all competing nations. In 2023, RTVE is set to pay €347,697, up €50,000 on last year. These financial contributions guarantee Spain’s automatic qualification as part of the ‘Big Five’. As well as this, Blanca Paloma’s music video is another factor for the increased costs. In 2022, Chanel’s record label paid for the recording of the music video for ‘SloMo’. However, this year saw RTVE pay €52,156 to video producers for the videoclip of ‘Eaea’.
A full breakdown of RTVE’s budget for the Contest is available to view here.
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. 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 allocation from RTVE? Do you think the amount of money Spain has allocated will help Blanca Paloma improve on Chanel’s place? 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 in Liverpool!
News Source: Publico.es
Photo Credit: RTVE
