Benidorm Fest 2026

Benidorm Fest 2026
Dates and venue
Semi-final 1
  • 10 February 2026
Semi-final 2
  • 12 February 2026
Final
  • 14 February 2026
VenuePalau Municipal d'Esports l'Illa de Benidorm
Benidorm, Spain
Organisation
Executive supervisorMaría Eizaguirre
Production
BroadcasterRadiotelevisión Española (RTVE)
DirectorCésar Vallejo
Artistic directorSergio Jaén
Presenters
Participants
Number of entries18
Number of finalists12
Vote
Voting systemProfessional jury (50%), demoscopic jury (25%) and televote (25%)
Winning songTony Grox and Lucycalys
"T amaré"

Benidorm Fest 2026 was the fifth edition of the annual Benidorm Fest, a television song contest held in Benidorm, Spain, organised and broadcast by Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE). The competition consisted of two semi-finals on 10 and 12 February, and a final on 14 February 2026. The winner was "T amaré", written by Antonio Ramírez Bernal and Carlos Prieto Cornejo and performed by Tony Grox and Lucycalys.

Format

Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE) organised and broadcast Benidorm Fest 2026, the fifth edition of its annual Benidorm Fest. The competition consisted of two semi-finals and a final. In total, 18 candidate songs were divided between the two semi-finals, nine each. In each semi-final, the six songs with the most votes among a professional jury (50%), a demoscopic panel (25%) and the televote (25%), qualified to the final. During the final, the twelve qualified songs were performed again and the winner was determined following the same voting system as in the semi-finals.[1] RTVE announced new features for this edition of the festival, such as a prize of €100,000 for the winning act and €50,000 for the songwriters.[2]

Though the competition was initially announced as the method for selecting the Spanish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna, Austria, on 16 September 2025, RTVE announced that it would not participate in Eurovision if Israel is allowed to compete due to the Gaza war, although it assured that the Benidorm Fest would be held regardless.[3][4] On 4 December 2025, after Israel was approved to participate, RTVE announced its non-participation at Eurovision. As a result, this marked the first time in the Benidorm Fest's history that the winner is not given the chance to represent Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest.[5] In addition to Spotify sponsoring an eponymous prize awarded to one of the participants, RTVE also announced a similar arrangement with TelevisaUnivision.[6][7] The Spotify Award consisted of a trip to its main headquarters in Stockholm for a session in the platform's studios, and the Univision Award consisted of a promotional tour on TelevisaUnivision and the recording of a single with a producer from the Latin industry.[8][9] Likewise, the main trophy design was revamped, returning to the Golden Mermaid used in the original Benidorm Song Festival;[10][7] this revamped trophy was also awarded to all previous Benidorm Fest winners ahead of the 2026 edition.[11]

Artistic director and creative team

On 26 June 2025, RTVE announced the appointment of Sergio Jaén, who served as artistic director of Austria's winning entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 and Finland's Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu that same year, as artistic director of Benidorm Fest. The team also includes Finnish visual designer Ari Levelä as visual and lighting director, and Borja Rueda as choreographer.[12][13]

Presenters

On 5 December 2025, Jesús Vázquez, Javier Ambrossi, and Inés Hernand, were announced as the hosts of the competition, with Lalachus joining for the final. In addition, each show was preceded by an introductory segment on RTVE Play, titled Benidorm Calling and hosted by Lalachus, Ángela Fernández, and Juanjo Bona, and the finale was followed by a commentary show, titled La noche del Benidorm and hosted by Lalachus and Inés Hernand.[14]

Jury members

The jury consisted of eight members who are all professionals in the Spanish-speaking music industry, namely Sonia Durán (director of Unión Fonográfica Independiente), Alicia García (director of Strategic Agreements and Sponsorships for Starlite Group), Almudena Heredero (president of Mujeres de la Industria de la Música), Dani Ruiz (composer), Ignacio Meyer (TelevisaUnivision president), Javier Llano (content director of Cadena 100, Melani Parejo (director for Music in Southern and Eastern Europe for Spotify), and Roberto Santamaría (director of Radio Nacional de España), who also served as the jury spokesperson.[15]

Participants

RTVE published the rules and regulations for Benidorm Fest 2025 on 4 June 2025, opening a submission window lasting until 24 September 2025. In order for an entry to qualify to compete, performers and at least one songwriter must be Spanish citizens or permanent residents over the age of 16 (at least 50% of Spanish citizens or permanent residents in the case of groups), and songs must contain at least 60% of the lyrics in one of the official languages of Spain.[16][17] On 26 September 2025, RTVE revealed that 870 entries had been received, including 350 that arrived on the last day of submissions.[16][18]

The 18 participants, selected by a professional panel, were announced by María Eizaguirre on 9 October 2025 at Prado del Rey.[19] The songs were announced on 18 December 2025.[20][21]

Benidorm Fest 2026 selected artists and songs[22][23][21][24]
Artist Song Composer(s)
Asha "Turista"
  • Hajar Sbihi
  • Nicole Zignago
  • Felipe González
  • Bruno Hermes Valverde Juárez
Atyat "Dopamina"
  • Atyat
  • Yoby Zúñiga
  • Jorge Dellacruz
  • Dale Pututi
Dani J "Bailándote" Rafael Vergara Hermosilla
Dora and Marlon Collins "Rakatá"
Funambulista "Sobran gilipo**as"
  • Diego Cantero
  • Luis Ramiro
Greg Taro "Velita"
  • Blake Martin
  • Greg Taro
  • Jheynner Argote
  • Yoby Zuñiga
Izan Llunas "¿Qué vas a hacer?"
Kenneth "Los ojos no mienten"
  • Carlos Alfredo Colina Acevedo
  • Iñigo Pérez Carramal
Kitai "El amor te da miedo"
  • David Serrano
  • Kenya Saiz
  • Edu Venturo
  • Fabio Yanes
Ku Minerva "No volveré a llorar"
Luna Ki "Bomba de amor"
  • Luna Górriz
  • Eduardo García Daban
María León feat. Julia Medina "Las damas y el vagabundo"
  • María León
  • Pablo Cebrián
  • Teresa Ferrer
  • Adrián Atalaya
Mayo "Tócame"
  • Álvaro Gutiérrez Mayo
  • Raúl Gómez
  • Ana Julieta Calavia
  • Rose Molina
  • Liam Garner
Mikel Herzog Jr. "Mi mitad"
  • Mikel Herzog Jr.
  • Dani HDZ
  • Iván Herzog
Miranda! and Bailamamá "Despierto amándote"
Rosalinda Galán "Mataora"
  • Rosalinda Galán Parrales
  • Greta Chasca Rocchi
  • Ainoa Buitrago
The Quinquis "Tú no me quieres"
  • Sergio Sastre
  • Maximiliano Jiménez
  • Marcos Miranda
Tony Grox and Lucycalys "T amaré"
  • Antonio Ramírez Bernal
  • Carlos Prieto Cornejo

Contest overview

Semi-final 1

The first semi-final took place on 10 February 2026. Nine artists competed and six qualified for the final. The show began with a video presentation featuring old footage from Benidorm narrated by Jordi Hurtado. In addition to the competing entries, the semi-final featured Fangoria as an opening act, performing their songs "Dramas y comedias" and "Espectacular"; and Paloma San Basilio as an interval act, performing her songs "La fiesta terminó" and "Juntos".[25] Following the end of all competing performances, it was announced that Luna Ki had retired from the "Green Room" as she was feeling unwell. Later, her team confirmed she had suffered an anxiety attack following her performance.[26][27]

Semi-final 1 – 10 February 2026[28][29][30]
Draw Artist Song Expert
jury 		Demoscopic
jury 		Televote Total Place
Votes Points
1 Kitai "El amor te da miedo" 78 20 2,382 32 130 4
2 María León feat. Julia Medina "Las damas y el vagabundo" 37 24 2,071 24 85 6
3 Luna Ki "Bomba de amor" 36 16 1,427 16 68 7
4 Greg Taro "Velita" 18 12 537 8 38 9
5 Izan Llunas "¿Qué vas a hacer?" 71 48 2,136 28 147 2
6 Dora and Marlon Collins "Rakatá" 41 8 1,389 12 61 8
7 Tony Grox and Lucycalys "T amaré" 63 40 6,454 48 151 1
8 Mikel Herzog Jr. "Mi mitad" 38 32 2,026 20 90 5
9 Kenneth "Los ojos no mienten" 74 28 2,922 40 142 3

Semi-final 2

The second semi-final took place on 12 February 2026. Nine artists competed and six qualified for the final. In addition to the competing entries, the semi-final featured Abraham Mateo as an opening act, performing a medley of the songs "Qué tal te va sin mí", "Maníaca", and "Quiero decirte", and Luz Casal as an interval act, performing her songs "¿Qué has hecho conmigo?" and "Rufino".[31]

Semi-final 2 – 12 February 2026[28][32][33]
Draw Artist Song Expert
jury 		Demoscopic
jury 		Televote Total Place
Votes Points
1 Asha "Turista" 63 16 1,809 16 95 5
2 Ku Minerva "No volveré a llorar" 22 28 1,535 12 62 9
3 Funambulista "Sobran gilipo**as" 41 40 1,489 8 89 7
4 Dani J "Bailándote" 51 32 2,008 20 103 4
5 The Quinquis "Tú no me quieres" 82 20 2,182 24 126 2
6 Atyat "Dopamina" 23 24 2,646 28 75 8
7 Rosalinda Galán "Mataora" 61 48 6,088 48 157 1
8 Mayo "Tócame" 45 8 4,095 40 93 6
9 Miranda! and Bailamamá "Despierto amándote" 68 12 3,122 32 112 3

Final

The final took place on 14 February 2026 and featured 12 entries. Tony Grox and Lucycalys won the contest with the song "T amaré". They were also awarded with the Univision Award, while the Spotify Award was awarded to Asha.[34]

In addition to the competing entries, the final was opened by last year's winner Melody, performing her songs "Esa diva", "El apagón", and "Alarma". The interval acts included a medley of past Benidorm Fest entries: "Zorra" by Nebulossa, "Quiero arder" by Agoney, "Eaea" by Blanca Paloma, "Caliente" by Jorge González, "Brillos platino" by Almácor, "Uh nana" by Daniela Blasco, and "Nochentera" by Vicco, which ended with all of them performing "Eres tú", originally by Mocedades; and Chanel, performing her songs "Antillas", "Matahari", "Zakazá", "Una bala", and "SloMo".[35]

Final – 14 February 2026[36][37]
Draw Artist Song Expert
jury 		Demoscopic
jury 		Televote Total Place
Votes Points
1 Mayo "Tócame" 24 4 3,695 36 64 11
2 Kitai "El amor te da miedo" 51 20 2,842 32 103 6
3 Asha "Turista" 92 28 2,369 24 144 2
4 Dani J "Bailándote" 40 32 2,122 8 80 9
5 The Quinquis "Tú no me quieres" 65 16 2,225 12 93 7
6 Izan Llunas "¿Qué vas a hacer?" 71 48 2,318 20 139 4
7 Mikel Herzog Jr. "Mi mitad" 23 40 2,305 16 79 10
8 María León feat. Julia Medina "Las damas y el vagabundo" 30 24 2,814 28 82 8
9 Rosalinda Galán "Mataora" 52 44 8,927 44 140 3
10 Kenneth "Los ojos no mienten" 24 12 1,498 4 40 12
11 Miranda! and Bailamamá "Despierto amándote" 70 8 3,848 40 118 5
12 Tony Grox and Lucycalys "T amaré" 82 36 11,100 48 166 1

References

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