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Benidorm Fest 2022
Dates
Semi-final 1	26 January 2022
Semi-final 2	27 January 2022
Final	29 January 2022
Host
Venue	Palau Municipal d'Esports l'Illa de Benidorm (Benidorm, Valencian Community, Spain)
Presenter(s)	Alaska Inés Hernand Màxim Huerta
Executive supervisor	María Eizaguirre Eva Mora
Host broadcaster	RTVE La 1 RNE
Website	www.rtve.es/television/eurovision/benidorm-fest/
Participants
Number of entries	14
Vote
Winning song	"SloMo" by Chanel
Benidorm Fest → 2023

Benidorm Fest 2022 was the first edition of the annual Benidorm Fest, a television song contest held in the homonymous city, organised and broadcast by Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE). Presented by Alaska, Inés Hernand and Màxim Huerta, the competition was held between 26 and 29 January 2022.

"SloMo", written by Leroy Sanchez, Keith Harris, Ibere Fortes, Maggie Szabo and Arjen Thonen, and performed by Chanel, won the inaugural edition of Benidorm Fest, and thus represented Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, where it placed third, marking the best performance for Spain in Eurovision since 1995.

The first edition of Benidorm Fest was met with a positive reception for its realization and production, bet on independent artists, and for rejuvenating Eurovision national selections in the country. Almost three million viewers watched the final, making up a 21% share of the television market. Five out of fourteen entries entered the PROMUSICAE chart, two of them reaching the top spot. The debut of Benidorm Fest helped launch the musical careers of Chanel, Rigoberta Bandini, and Tanxugueiras.

Format

The competition consisted of two semi-finals and one final. In total, 14 candidate songs compete divided between the two semifinals, that is, seven participate in each one. In each semifinal, the four songs with the most votes among the national (30%) and international (20%) professional juries, the demographic panel (25%) and the televote (25%), went directly to the final. During the final, the eight classified songs were performed again to determine which would represent Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, following the same voting system as in the previous galas.

Presenters

Expert jury members

Guest performers

Alongside the song competition, the live shows included performances by national and international guest artists.

In the first semi-final, Salvador Sobral, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, performed "Fui ver meu amor" and Marlon performed "De perreo" as interval acts. During the interval of the second semi-final, Ruth Lorenzo, who represented Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, performed Sergio Dalma's "Bailar pegados" (the Spanish entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1991) and Niña Polaca performed "Nora".

The final was opened by Pastora Soler, who represented Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, performing her entry "Quédate conmigo". The interval of the final featured Nía and Nyno Vargas [es] performing "Me muero de risa", and Soler reappearing to perform "Que hablen de mí". In addition, 2020 and 2021 Spanish Eurovision entrant Blas Cantó made an appearance to hand the trophy to the winner.

Competing entries

On 29 September 2021, RTVE opened a one-month period (later extended until 10 November) for artists, authors and composers to send their proposals to the public radio and television corporation, while the broadcaster itself reserved a direct invitation to renowned singers and authors from the current music scene. Both the evaluation of submissions and the invitations were carried out in collaboration with musical advisers J Cruz, Tony Sánchez-Ohlsson and Zahara. At a press conference held on 22 November 2021 Spanish head of delegation Eva Mora declared 692 submissions had been received by the online form, and 194 songs had been submitted by artists directly invited by RTVE, for a total of 886.

The names of the initial 14 artists and songs were announced on 10 December 2021. All the songs were made available on RTVE Play and RTVE's website on 21 December 2021. On 23 January 2022, Luna Ki announced their withdrawal from Benidorm Fest due to a combination of personal issues and the inability to use autotune under Eurovision rules.

Semi-finals

The two semi-finals were held on 26 and 27 January 2022. The running order of the semi-finals, which was decided by the organizers, was revealed on 13 January 2022.

Semi-final 1

The first semi-final was held on 26 January 2022. Chanel, Tanxugueiras, Blanca Paloma and Varry Brava qualified for the final.

Semi-final 2

The second semi-final was held on 27 January 2022. Rigoberta Bandini, Rayden, Xeinn and Gonzalo Hermida qualified for the final.

Final

The final was held on 29 January 2022. The running order of the final was decided by a draw held on 28 January 2022.

Ratings

Controversy

Following Benidorm Fest, allegations of favouritism, also known as "tongo", arose regarding Chanel's victory. One of the members of the national jury, Miryam Benedited, had previously worked with Chanel as a choreographer, leading to allegations of cronyism, as Chanel received the maximum number of points from the jury. Furthermore, Spanish viewers expressed frustration with the voting format, when it was revealed that Tanxugueiras, who finished in third place, had won the public vote with 70.75%, while winner Chanel only received 3.97%. Public votes were only worth 25% of the total score, while the professional jury votes were worth 50%. RTVE released a statement acknowledging the viewers' dissatisfaction with the selection, and promised to open a dialogue to improve future editions of Benidorm Fest, but maintained that they would support Chanel as the Spanish representative. Both Rigoberta Bandini and Tanxugueiras, who came in second and third place, expressed their support to Chanel, and called for fans to accept the results.

Notes

1. ^ Following a positive COVID-19 test result, in accordance with the event's protocols, Hermida competed using the music video of the song.

References

1. "Infografía: Chanel consigue para España el mejor resultado en Eurovisión desde 1995". Statista Infografías (in Spanish). 16 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
2. "Por qué el Benidorm Fest ha sido un éxito más allá de Eurovisión". ElHuffPost (in Spanish). 2022-05-21. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
3. Marcos, Natalia (2022-01-30). "El Benidorm Fest triunfa entre los jóvenes y arrasa en Galicia: el gran éxito de TVE con la preselección para Eurovisión". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-06-17.
4. "Tanxugueiras, Chanel y otros de los favoritos del Benidorm Fest entran con fuerza en el top 100 de las listas de éxitos, con Rigoberta Bandini en el primer puesto". 20 minutos (in Spanish). 2022-02-09. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
5. "La herencia que deja el Benidorm Fest 2022: del desinterés al éxito". El Español (in Spanish). 2022-01-30. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
6. "El Benidorm Fest dispara la carrera de todos los artistas: más escuchas, cientos de bolos y nuevas canciones". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 2022-03-20. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
7. ^ "TVE anuncia el orden de actuación del Benidorm Fest y aclara dudas sobre las entradas". eldiario.es (in European Spanish). 13 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
8. Soriano, Sergio (26 January 2022). "Benidorm Fest: Salvador Sobral y el grupo asturiano Marlon, artistas invitados de la Semifinal 1". FormulaTV (in European Spanish). Noxvo. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
9. "Ruth Lorenzo y Niña Polaca, los artistas invitados de la Segunda Semifinal del Benidorm Fest". rtve.es (in European Spanish). RTVE. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
10. Casado, Edu (2022-01-29). "Así ha sido la victoria contra pronóstico de Chanel en el Benidorm Fest". 20minutos.es (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2022-01-30.
11. "RTVE amplía hasta el 10 de noviembre el plazo de presentación de canciones para Eurovisión 2022". rtve.es (in European Spanish). RTVE. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
12. "J Cruz, Tony Sánchez-Ohlsson y Zahara son los asesores musicales de RTVE para Eurovisión 2022". rtve.es (in European Spanish). RTVE. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
13. "Rueda de prensa sobre el proceso de selección del Benidorm Fest | Eurovisión 2022" (in European Spanish). RTVE. 22 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021 – via YouTube.
14. "Benidorm Fest: Estos son los 14 artistas y canciones de la preselección de España para Eurovisión 2022". rtve.es (in European Spanish). RTVE. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
15. "Escucha todas las canciones del Benidorm Fest, en exclusiva en RTVE Play". rtve.es (in European Spanish). RTVE. 21 December 2021.
16. Fuster, Luis (23 January 2022). "Spain: Luna Ki withdraws from Benidorm Fest over auto-tune ban". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
17. Urrea (alcarriavision), Isaac (2022-02-04). "Se desvela el acta de votación del jurado que seleccionó a los candidatos y suplentes del Benidorm Fest". eurovision-spain.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-06.
18. Adams, William Lee (26 January 2022). "Benidorm Fest 2022: Semi-Final 1 qualifiers include Chanel and Tanxugueiras". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
19. Borrego Escot, Daniel (27 January 2021). "Chanel, Tanxugueiras, Blanca Paloma y Varry Brava, a la final del Benidorm Fest". rtve.es (in European Spanish). RTVE. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
20. Adams, William Lee (26 January 2022). "Benidorm Fest 2022: Chanel wins Semi-Final 1, topping jury and demoscopic vote". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
21. van Leijden, Bente (2022-01-27). "Rigoberta Bandini wins Semi-Final 2 of Benidorm Fest". ESCXTRA.com. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
22. Adams, William Lee (2022-01-27). "Benidorm Fest 2022: Rigoberta Bandini wins Semi-Final 2 in Spain with "Ay mamá"". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
23. "Gonzalo Hermida, positivo en Covid-19: ¿Qué pasará con su actuación en el Benidorm Fest?". rtve.es (in European Spanish). RTVE. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
24. Popescu, David (2022-01-30). "Spain: Chanel wins Benidorm Fest and will represent Spain!". ESCUnited. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
25. Macías, Fernando (28 January 2022). "Final del Benidorm Fest: Este será el orden de actuación de los ocho finalistas". rtve.es (in European Spanish). RTVE. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
26. Pérez, Laura (2022-05-17). "Las audiencias que demuestran que Eurovisión (y su preselección) tiene potencial... si se apuesta por ello". eldiario.es. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
27. Papayiannakis, Andreas (2022-01-21). "Spain: The members of the Benidorm Fest jury unveiled!". Eurovision Fun. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
28. Sánchez, José Manuel (2022-02-03). "Miryam Benedited explica por qué votó a Chanel en el Benidorm Fest y denuncia las "amenazas de muerte" a sus hijos". El Plural (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2022-02-13.
29. Granger, Anthony (2022-02-03). "Spain: Tanxugueiras Won Benidorm Fest Televote With Over 70% of the Vote". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
30. Silvestre, Javier (2022-01-31). "La aplaudida reacción de Rigoberta Bandini y Tanxugueiras tras la polémica elección de Chanel". La Vanguardia (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2022-02-15.

• 2022 song contests
• 2022 in Spanish television
• January 2022 events in Spain
• Benidorm Fest
• Eurovision Song Contest 2022
• 2022 controversies