Dinero, dinero: The regional government of Valencia will invest almost a million euros in Benidorm Fest, Spain’s selection for Eurovision 2022.
As Europa Press reports, la Generalitat Valenciana will invest 968,000 euros in the event, as part of its deal with RTVE. It’s not yet known the amount of money that RTVE will invest, nor how much Benidorm’s city hall will contribute. But add in their unknown contributions and it’s clear that Spain’s overall Eurovision budget will exceed one million euros this year. La Generalitat has funded similar events in the past, and its contribution has traditionally been around 50% of the overall budget.
So, in short, expect plenty of glitter and gloss, and, we imagine, a green room overflowing with drinks.
Benidorm Fest
Spain has been creating hype around its new national selection for months. In fact, since it was announced at a lush event in July, both media and the broadcaster have been dropping juicy little hints.
The first edition of Benidorm Fest is set to take place at the end of January across three different nights: two semi-finals and a final. The date is yet to be announced, but the last week of January is the most likely.
In fact, RTVE is taking their campaign “La Gran Consulta” to Benidorm on Wednesday the 26th. That’s a nation-wide survey where the public broadcaster asks citizens their opinions about its content. Se vienen cositas.
Last Friday, Head of Delegation Eva Mora took part in ‘The contest you want’, a debate on the future of Eurovision at Instituto. She confirmed that Benidorm Fest has been signed for four years.
The broadcaster’s intention is to make the national final a permanent fixture of its entertainment calendar and it’s open to keeping Benidorm Fest going even longer.
The application deadline for Benidorm Fest closes on Wednesday, following a two-week extension to the deadline. During ‘The contest you want’, members of the Spanish delegation maintained that they were very happy with the general quality of the songs received.
Previously, RTVE announced that J Cruz, Tony Sánchez-Ohlsson and Zahara will serve as the musical advisers, working hand-in-hand with RTVE staff in choosing the 12 competing songs for the upcoming Benidorm Fest.
Spain’s expenses at Eurovision
Spain is one of the few countries who make public their Eurovision expenses every year. Thus, we know that the amount of money contributed by the regional government is already more than the whole of last year’s budget.
In fact, 2021 was Spain’s cheapest participation since 2015, when there was no national selection. Surprisingly, the country’s best results in the past decade have come with relatively lower budgets.
Back in 2012, with Pastora Soler, Spain spent little more than in 2021. The result? 10th place. It was a similar situation in 2014, when Ruth Lorenzo entered and also came joint tenth. Then Spain spent even less.
On the other hand, the two most expensive years for RTVE were 2019 and 2011, when they held national selections. The results were not good at all. Lucía Pérez came 23rd in Düsseldorf, while Miki climbed one place higher on the scoreboard in Tel Aviv.
Nevertheless, Spain’s lacklustre streak of results in the last decade makes it hard to see a correlation. The country has finished below 20th in eight of the last ten contests, so it may not be just about the money.
Are you ready for Benidorm Fest? Will the new national selection be a turning point for Spain? Will the Iberian country finally end its disastrous streak of results? Let us know in the comment section below.
god you’re strange
Tbh I loved Spanish song this year and Spain was in my TOP10/TOP 5, they were brutally underrated
Airgead
Dear lord… I hope it would worth it
I think we’re witnessing the renaissance of the Big 5 at Eurovision. Italy & France have been doing amazing in recent years and Spain & the UK seem to be investing a lot into their acts for 2022. Germany on the other hand is going back to their national selection, which only gave them a good result over a decade ago.
Imagine a year where Spain and the UK are top 2
If that happens, the fandom will have to train our guns to new countries to make fun of every year.
Spain has still bigger chance to be in TOP 2 than UK due to language
Hopefully Spanish entry this year will be reggaeton
Spain has so many amazing musical genre’s other than reggaeton. In fact, reggaeton isn’t actually even Spanish. I also think Reggaeton is becoming slightly dated, just look at Bad Bunny and Rauw Alejandro’s recent songs – they’re starting to move away from the genre.
if you want a fresh take on reggaeton, I would listen to arca tbh. mequetrefe is a masterpiece
You’re right, Argentine rap and Mexican banda are becoming the trendy genres in the region rn
Gonna come back to this comment if/when Spain does really well in 2022
The next year hopefully we will see more quality entries and different music genres at Eurovision.
Now let’s hope that money is put to good use
I hope all these new changes and expenses help Spain’s chances in the competition. It is nice to hear that the country is starting to work harder on their selection and want to do better. I just hope this inspires other countries (UK especially)