The first gala of Benidorm Fest is the audience leader in its time slot

The fifth edition of Benidorm Fest kicked off last night with a first semifinal marked by artistic intensity, a diversity of styles, and a remarkable connection with the audience, both at the Palau d’Esports l’Illa de Benidorm and via the television broadcast. The event's ratings propelled it to the top spot in its time slot across various television channels.

Last night's gala achieved an 11.1% audience share, making it the leader in its time slot and the third-highest-rated program of the day across all channels. The average viewership was 850,000, with a total of 2.8 million unique viewers. Furthermore, the semifinal was the top-rated program among young people aged 13 to 24, achieving a 14% share.

As in previous years, Benidorm Fest also generated massive buzz on social media, reaching 24 countries, where it was a trending topic both nationally and internationally during the broadcast. Most social media posts originated in Spain (70.2%), but other countries also had significant numbers, such as Colombia (13.6%). There was also considerable engagement in Mexico (2.6%) and the United States (1.6%). In total, 46,900 mentions were made on this social network, 34,000 of which came from Spain. By gender, 62.3% of posters were male, compared to 37.7% female, and the majority of posts occurred between 9:00 PM and 1:00 AM.

Between 9 and 10 p.m., digital interest surged, registering explosive growth before the gala began, while the absolute peak was at 11 p.m., with maximum activity and 12,065 mentions on X. The high number of Google searches it generated, with over 20,000 entries, is also noteworthy.

Regarding its presence on Spotify and YouTube, the two platforms combined reached 78.1 million streams. It has also been revealed that streams on the Swedish platform have exceeded 7.3 million, and that the most-streamed song so far has been "Despierto amándote," which Miranda! and Bailamamá will perform tomorrow, Thursday, in the second semifinal. On YouTube, the most viewed song, with 3.1 million views, is currently "Tú no me quieres" by The Quinquis. The streams on RTVE Música were also significant, with Tony Grox and LUCYCALYS' song "T Amaré" taking first place with 8,900 streams.

Last night's musical event was attended by the mayor, Toni Pérez, and the councillor for Events, Jesús Carrobles, as well as a large number of members of the municipal council. Also present at the gala were the Director General of Tourism, Israel Martínez, and the Regional Secretary for Industry, Eduardo Fernández; in addition to RTVE board members Marta Ribas and Sergi Sol, and RTVE's Director of Communication and Participation, María Eizaguirre.

Jesús Vázquez, Javier Ambrossi, and Inés Hernand hosted the gala, which featured high-calibre performances that confirmed the strength of the format and the appeal of the competition. After the voting, the following participants secured their place in Saturday's final: Tony Grox & LUCYCALYS with ‘T Amaré’, Kenneth with ‘Los ojos no mienten’, Izan Llunas with ‘¿Qué vas a hacer?’, Kitai with ‘El amor te da miedo’, Mikel Herzog Jr. with ‘Mi mitad’, and María León & Julia Medina with ‘Las damas y el vagabundo’.

The festival continues tomorrow, Thursday, with the second semifinal featuring Asha, Ku Minerva, Funambulista, Dani J, Los Quinquis, Alyat, Rosalinda Galán, Mayo, and Miranda & Bailamamá.

This evening, the party moves to the Fan Zone at Plaza de Sus Majestades los Reyes de España with the first Euroclub session, featuring performances by Airam Montero, Polo Nández, De la Cueva, Ani Quee, Maddi Alma, Lara Taylor, Juan Anselmo, Charly Weinberg, Kingdom, and Lucía Pérez.

Benidorm Fest will reach its grand finale next Saturday, when the winning entry for the 2026 edition will be announced, taking home the Golden Mermaid and the €150,000 prize.