Benidorm kicks off the fourth edition of Benidorm Fest, consolidated as a national and international benchmark

Benidorm will return at the beginning of 2025 to the centre of all attention of the national and international music industry during the celebration of the fourth edition of the Benidorm Fest, converted, in just three editions, into a benchmark for artists, fans and Eurofans beyond the borders of our country. The musical contest that selects the artist who will represent Spain in the next edition of the Eurovision Song Contest will take place in our city starting on January 26, with semifinals on January 28 and 30, while the grand final will be on February 1.

Tamarindos promenade, where the well-known Mirador de la Música is located, hosted this Monday the presentation of the next edition of this event, in an event that marks the starting signal for the new edition and which was well attended by the president of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón; the president of RTVE, Concepción Cascajosa; and the mayor of the city, Toni Pérez. Along with them, the Minister of Innovation, Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Nuria Montes, also participated; Senator Agustín Almodóbar; the regional deputies José Ramón González de Zárate and Mario Villar; members of the local Corporation; participants from previous editions; large representation of media from all over the country; as well as representatives of business and economic sectors of the city, such as the Hosbec, Abreca-Cobreca, Aico or Aptur associations, among others.

The event was presented by María Eizaguirre, director of Participation and Communication of the public entity RTVE, who, after giving way to a video of all the singers who have participated in previous editions of the Benidorm Fest, highlighted the consolidation of this festival as a focus of attraction for artists and the public. Immediately afterwards, the protocol signing of the agreement between RTVE, the Generalitat Valenciana and the City Council will allow the fourth edition of the Benidorm Fest to be held next year.

After the signing, the president of RTVE, Concepción Cascajosa, mentioned the first stages of this contest, designed at the beginning of the recovery after the pandemic, and how the three institutions that created it continue to bet on it, something which, in his opinion, “builds the country, great collective projects and allows us to move towards the future.” Cascajosa said that “Benidorm Fest is a wonderful collective project” and, at the same time, “a magnificent opportunity to come and get to know the Valencian Community and to enjoy life” in a destination like Benidorm.

Likewise, the entity's president has pointed out that this contest has allowed the public corporation to evolve towards “linear television, social networks and new communication channels”, highlighting that, partly thanks to it, “RTVE was last year audience leader among Generation Z.”

For his part, Mayor Toni Pérez began his speech by highlighting "this enormous alliance such as that of RTVE, the Generalitat Valenciana and the Benidorm City Council", after entities that "continue to bet, shaking hands, to promote music Spanish and the creativity of our artists, and to offer an opportunity and be a focus of attraction for all Spanish creativity to launch it to Europe and from Europe, to the world."
The first mayor of Benidorm also thanked the “total involvement” of the festival's promoters for “positioning this brand, which is public television, and also another great brand that belongs to everyone and we do it together, such as Benidorm, better and better.” ”, defending that Benidorm Fest is “a great promotional tool” for the city.

To conclude his intervention, Toni Pérez encouraged the artists who are already preparing their songs for the new edition and recalled that this year "it marks 55 years since Julio Iglesias won the Benidorm Song Festival." He then used a phrase from 'Life Remains the Same' to reiterate the municipal commitment to Benidorm Fest: "The works remain and projects like this are the ones we must bet on."

For his part, the president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Carlos Mazón, began his speech by reproducing another phrase from the song with which Julio Iglesias won the Golden Mermaid: “The same song says 'others who come will continue them' and in that we are. We have come to continue with this project and to make it bigger, to take the base and work not only to keep it the same but to make it even better.”

Mazón highlighted that “just as RTVE is finding new audiences with the Benidorm Fest, Benidorm and the Valencian Community are finding new tourists” and said that, in addition, this event serves to highlight talent. “The talent from Alicante, and Nebulossa is a great example of this, of a talent that was there and we needed to see it flourish; but also from emerging talent that arrives new and from many other parts of Spain", because in his opinion the Benidorm Fest is "a platform that is probably one of the best there is to show that talent to the world."

Finally, he thanked that public television “is committed to Benidorm and the Valencian Community.”

After the official speeches, the next part of the event featured Mery Bass and Mark Dasousa, the members of Nebulossa, who shared with all attendees what they have experienced since they won the 'Bronze Microphone' of the third edition of this musical contest. "Benidorm Fest is a festival, which not only gives you promotion, but also creates an environment, a microclimate with your colleagues, and all you receive is winning," they explained, and then described the song 'Zorra', which already reaches 26.8 million views, in “a message of hope for many people, a ray of light for the whole world” but also “an important change in our lives for which we cannot be more than grateful ”.

The president of RTVE has surprised Nebulossa by giving them a gold record to commemorate the millions of views that the winning song of Benidorm Fest 2024 has already accumulated, which minutes later they performed again on the Mirador de la Música stage.

News for the next edition

Regarding the next edition of Benidorm Fes, which will take place from January 26 to February 1, 2025, RTVE representatives have explained that the competition will once again have two semi-finals and a final gala, although activities and activities will be scheduled. parallel parties throughout the week to prolong its impact.

Likewise, the director of Studies and Technical Media of this entity, José Luis Muñiz, has announced that the Benidorm Fest has closed a collaboration agreement with the Viña del Mar International Song Festival, in Chile, after which it was agreed last year with Sanremo Song Festival, which will also be maintained in this edition. The RAI director Mariangela Borneo attended the presentation of Benidorm Fest, representing this Italian festival.

Although the organization of the next Benidorm Fest will be similar to that of past editions, there will also be new features. The first is the incorporation of the artist Beatriz Luengo into the team of advisors in charge of selecting the themes and artists that will be presented in the preselection of themes to participate in the festival.

In addition, a change in the voting system has also been announced. The co-director of the festival, Ana María Bordas, has explained that in the semifinals the names of the finalists who advance to the grand final will be announced. The results of the voting for each of those selected will not be given, with the aim that this information cannot condition the final votes of the galas, where the winner of the Benidorm Fest 2025 will be chosen. The RTVE spokesperson explained that this is “a demand” that the participating artists had been demanding, to which this year will answer.

Promotion of the 2024 finalists

To conclude the presentation of the event, there has also been a review of the projection that their participation in the Benidorm Fest is bring to many of the participants in the third edition, held in 2024. Among them, they have advanced that Marlena's song ' Amor de Verano will be the theme selected by RTVE for the broadcasts of the Paris Olympic Games, as Almácor's 'Brillos platinum' has already been with the Euro Cup.

In addition, Miss Caffeina has composed the official song of this year's Vuelta Ciclista a España, while other performers will also provide the soundtrack to the RTVE series and productions.