Benidorm consolidates itself as a 'film friendly' destination and faces a very audiovisual start to the year with 'Benidorm Fest'

Benidorm has established itself in 2021 as a 'film friendly' destination, since, despite the uncertainty generated by the pandemic, the city has captured a hundred productions during the year, as reported today by the mayor, Toni Pérez, from the International Tourism Fair of Madrid, in which the Benidorm Film Office is present for another year in the Fitur Screen pavilion.

Toni Pérez has indicated that "the balance of audiovisual activity in Benidorm closed in 2021 with 344 days of effective filming and an economic impact for the city of 3 million euros"; some “important figures that confirm that the city's commitment to becoming a set is clearly positive”. In this regard, he has stressed that "these productions constitute a showcase for Benidorm, while generating overnight stays, consumption in local establishments and also employment, since companies from the city participate in part of these audiovisual works".

But if the year 2021 has been "very positive" in terms of productions, the mayor has stressed that "we are facing a very audiovisual start to 2022, one could say unprecedented, with the 'Benidorm Fest' and all the media impact that the celebration next week of the event from which the representative of Spain will come out in Eurovision is already having”. In addition to the broadcast of the three galas in prime time on January 26, 27 and 29, Toni Pérez has announced that "Benidorm is going to be very present in RTVE's programming throughout the week, since part of the program grid of La 1 of TVE and RNE will be broadcast next week from the city”.

Among the programs that will be moved to Benidorm next week, 'Corazón, corazón', 'España Directo', the regional news programs, 'Tarde lo que late' and 'This Sunday is not just any day' from RNE, and '180º' from Radio 3.

At this point, the mayor has indicated that “these programs are added to the recent broadcast of the senior edition of Master Chef, in which Benidorm was the scene of the outdoor test; or Telepasión, a space that could also be seen on TVE's La 1 last Christmas Eve”.

Advertising campaigns of large firms, series, films and documentaries

The head of Benidorm Film Office, Rosa Llorca, explained that "as happened in 2020, last year the city has also attracted series and feature films, which have once again used the suggestive locations in the surroundings of the Serra natural park Gelada”. This is the case of 'Hoy es mañana', the first feature film produced by Amazon Prime in Spain; the second season of 'Paraíso', by director Fernando González Molina; “Arcoiris”, produced by Paco León; 'El Inmortal', which will premiere on Movistar +; or some sequences from the first episode of 'Raphaelismo', the documentary series on Raphael's life and that can already be seen on the same platform.

Llorca has highlighted that "advertising has also played a very prominent role during 2021". Thus, "several locations in Benidorm have served as the setting for many photo and video sessions for national and international campaigns of top-level brands." Among them are Lacoste campaign, still unreleased, with an almost cinematographic production, which captured all the attention last October; or the campaigns for Zara, underwear and swimwear and the announcement of the ONCE lottery, without forgetting that of various car models such as Lexus or Renault.

In addition, the head of Benidorm Film Office added, "once again the interest in showing how a top-level tourist power is facing the consequences of this second year of the pandemic has led us to attend to 46 productions between news and documentaries”. Among the most prominent, at the national level, the programs 'Crónicas' and 'Informe Semanal'; and in the national section productions of the BBC, the Chinese television channel CGTN, or Belgian public television.

Lastly, music videos have once again had "an important role, attracted by new locations as visual as those on Avenida Mediterráneo", some of which have become "an authentic phenomenon" such as that of the singer Pol Granch, which already has more than 4.5 million views on YouTube.

On a professional level, Benidorm Film Office has participated in the First Conference on Film Shooting and Tourism organized by the Costablanca Film Commission where, in addition to the presentation on the Benidorm case, they participated in the preparation of a manual. Likewise, the attendance at the first location market held in Valladolid has been very important, once again by the provincial Film Commission, carrying out, with the collaboration of Visit Benidorm, a tour of the city with a group of top-level international locators.