We at That Eurovision Site will be ranking national finals throughout this coming season. The next national final that the team have taken a closer look at is Benidorm Fest 2025, which will take place on the 30th of January. Benidorm Fest 2025 will select the Eurovision representative for Spain in Basel.
Who is taking part in Benidorm 2025?
There are 8 artists taking part in Benidorm 2025. The 8 artists taking part are as follows:
| Entrant | Entry |
| Carla Frigo | Bésame |
| Celine Van Heel | La casa |
| DeTeresa | La pena |
| Henry Semler | No lo ves |
| J Kbello | VIP |
| Mawot | Raggio di sole |
| Mel Ömana | I’m A Queen |
| Melody | Esa diva |
Who are our favourites from Benidorm 2025?
We ranked the songs taking part in Benidorm, using a 1-8 ranking. 1 being our favourite, 8 being our least favourite song. We then calculated the average of all our rankings. Right below, you can see our top four for this selection, and the ones we want to qualify.
4th. DeTeresa – “La Pena” (4.38):
3rd. Carla Frigo – “Bésame” (4.1):
2nd. Henry Semler – “No Lo Ves” (3.50):
1st. Celine Van Heel – “La Casa” (3.00):
What did some of our team members have to say about their favourite songs from Benidorm 2025?
Shiloh (Celine): It’s sassy, classy, confident, and so totally Spanish. If Celine van Heel’s charisma can come across in an audio recording, I’m so excited to see what she can do onstage. The sound is classic without feeling dated, and the final command of “quedate con la casa” just ties the whole polished package together. So many national final songs are either over- or under-produced but La Casa finds the perfect middle ground!
Daniel (Henry Semler): Benidorm this year has a lot of songs that can be quite loud and in your face, and I think No Le Ves is the furthest thing from that and, I really appreciate the change of pace that it brings. The melody of the song is really pretty and Henry’s voice is packed with emotion. Throw on some stripped back staging, making usage of my ever beloved pretty lighting that compliments this really moody track well, this is something that I could really see standing out amongst the competition.
Angus (Carla): While Spain has treated us to plenty of songs inviting us to dance and party, it is great to have a song that feels ready for the club. The song evokes flashing lights on a fun and crowded dancefloor, and musically there is more than enough going on to keep you engaged even when you’re just listening to it at home
What is Benidorm Fest?
Following a decade and a half interval, Spain’s national broadcaster RTVE revived the Benidorm International Song Festival, and transformed into Spain’s selection show for Eurovision. This is not the first time RTVE has experimented with pre-existing formats to select it’s Eurovision entrants; having previously intermittently used Operación Triunfo. Though this time was to much greater success, as inaugural winner Chanel ultimately finished third at the 2022 contest in Turin. Originally held between 1959 and 2006, the winner of the contest would go on to receive the prestigious award the Sirenita de Oro (trans. The Golden Mermaid). Though the winners of the current iteration of the contest receive a bronze microphone instead.
As the contest is at its heart a celebration of Spanish music, the lyrical contest of each song must be at least 60% from on of the official languages of Spain. Voting in Benidorm Fest consists of a hybrid system, with three voting methods: jury, demiscopic, and televote. the jury consists of music professions ranking the competitors, and makes up 50% of the vote. The demiscopic vote is a weighted system meant to balance the vote based on the demographic make up of Spain, and makes up 25% of the vote. The final 25% of the vote consists of simple televote.
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.
In 2024, Spain selected Nebulossa. As part of the Big 5, Nebulossa did not need to qualify to the Grand Final from the semi-finals. At the close of voting, their song “ZORRA” finished 22nd, with a total of 30 points. Of these, 19 points came from the jury, whilst 11 came from the televote.
Who would you like to see represent Spain in Basel? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky for all things Czechia at Eurovision 2024!
News Source: That Eurovision Site
Photo Credit: TVE