RTVE has postponed the reveal of the 16 participants in the Spanish Eurovision pre-selection, Benidorm Fest 2025, originally scheduled for Thursday, November 7th. The new date for the announcement remains unknown.
Benidorm Fest, Spain’s Eurovision national selection event, will serve the country for the fourth time, selecting the Spanish representative for the Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Basel, Switzerland. Sixteen artists will participate in the selection process, with six additional songs chosen for a waiting list in case of withdrawals or disqualifications.
RTVE has not provided an official reason for the delay, but it’s likely related to the severe flooding in eastern Spain, particularly in the Valencia region, where reports indicate over 200 casualties. This natural disaster is considered one of the worst to hit Spain and Europe in recent times.
A new date for the participants’ reveal has not been set. There’s speculation that RTVE might wait until the Junior Eurovision week, scheduled for November 16th in Madrid, to unveil the festival contestants. However, it remains unclear whether the reveal will take place before or after the Eurovision events in Madrid.
Competition Format and Voting System
Some of the participants will advance to the grand final of the local competition, which is expected to take place on February 1st. The song that will represent the country in Switzerland will be chosen through a combined voting system: judges will account for 50% of the total vote, a representative sample (demoscopic judges) for 25%, and the public vote for 25%.
Key Dates for Spain’s Eurovision 2025 Selection
- Semi-final 1 – January 28, 2025
- Semi-final 2 – January 30, 2025
- Grand Final – February 1, 2025
Spain in Eurovision 2024
“Zorra” is the name of the song performed by the duo Nebulossa, representing Spain at Eurovision 2024 held in Malmö. The duo won the Spanish Eurovision selection “Benidorm Fest 2024”. Spain reached 22nd place in the grand final with 30 points. This is the seventh time in the last decade that Spain has received one of the last five places in the Eurovision final.
Source: escplus.es
Eurovision 2025: This will be Spain’s 65th participation in Eurovision. Spain joined the competition in 1961 and won it twice consecutively in 1968 and 1969. Spain has hosted the contest on its territory only once in 1969 and since then holds the longest waiting time since its last victory – 55 years.
