Spain’s national broadcaster will reveal the Benidorm Fest 2026 contestants by mid-October, with songs set to premiere on December 18th. Eurovision 1999 winner Charlotte Perrelli has submitted a song
Spain remains steadfast despite tensions: the contestants of Benidorm Fest 2026 are set to be unveiled within the next two weeks, with the competing songs revealed on December 18th, according to head of the Spanish delegation César Vallejo during a meeting of the OGAE Spain. Although the country has threatened to withdraw from Eurovision over Israel’s participation, Vallejo confirmed that the festival will be held under any circumstance.
At the same event, it was confirmed that Charlotte Perrelli, winner of Eurovision 1999 and a current resident of Spain, has submitted a song for the festival. Perrelli returned to the Eurovision stage in 2008 representing Sweden with “Hero”, finishing in 18th place. Since then, she has made three unsuccessful attempts to compete again through Sweden’s Melodifestivalen.
870 Submissions for the 2026 Edition
A total of 870 songs were submitted to Benidorm Fest 2026. From these, between 16 and 20 entries will be selected to compete in two semi-finals scheduled for February 10th and 12th, followed by the grand final on February 14th.
Almost Two Million Viewers for Benidorm Fest 2025
RTVE reported 870 submissions this year – slightly fewer than last year’s 1,000, yet higher than the 825 received for the 2024 edition. The continued popularity of Benidorm Fest 2025 significantly boosted interest in the new edition, maintaining high submission rates amid unprecedented enthusiasm for the competition.
The 2025 grand final dominated viewership ratings throughout the week, achieving a 17.1% audience share and nearly 1,938,000 viewers – making it the second most-watched edition in the festival’s history. At the broadcast’s peak, nearly five million viewers tuned in to witness Melody’s victory, a moment that underscored the festival’s soaring popularity among Spanish audiences.
Spanish Eurovision Pre-Selection Dates
- Semi-final 1 – February 10th, 2026
- Semi-final 2 – February 12th, 2026
- Grand Final – February 14th, 2026
Spain in Eurovision 2025
“Esa Diva” (in English: “That Diva”) is the title of the song performed by singer Melody, who represented Spain at Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland.
Spain finished 24th with 37 points – 27 points from the juries, placing 21st, and only 10 points from the televotes, placing 22nd. In the last 20 years, Spain managed to finish only 3 times in the top 10.
Eurovision 2026: This will be Spain’s 66th 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 – 56 years.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +972-50-9441919
Maor Heumann has been writing about the Eurovision Song Contest and following it for over three decades. He has attended five contests and has found something to appreciate in almost every possible musical genre — from the sugary pop entries that finish last in the semi-finals to the quirky avant-garde pieces that even the competition’s juries struggled to connect with. He usually prefers original languages and songs with depth over Swedish-produced English clones — though he doesn’t promise to stick to that rule.
He grew up on the kibbutz of Sara’le Sharon, who instilled in him a love for music and created his first connection to the contest back in 1993 — before most of the current editorial team was even born.
