Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023
Spain participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom, with the song "Eaea" performed by Blanca Paloma. The Spanish broadcaster Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE), together with the Generalitat Valenciana, organised Benidorm Fest in order to select the Spanish entry for the 2023 contest. 18 entries were selected to compete in the national final, which consists of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. Eight entries ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 4 February 2023, and the winner was determined by a combination of votes from an expert jury, a demoscopic panel and a televote.
| Eurovision Song Contest 2023 | |
|---|---|
| Country | Spain |
| National selection | |
| Selection process | Benidorm Fest 2023 |
| Selection date(s) | Semi-finals: 31 January 2023 2 February 2023 Final: 4 February 2023 |
| Selected entrant | Blanca Paloma |
| Selected song | "Eaea" |
| Selected songwriter(s) |
|
| Finals performance | |
| Final result | 17th, 100 points |
| Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest | |
As part of the "Big Five", Spain directly qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Background
Prior to the 2023 contest, Spain had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest sixty-one times since its first entry in 1961.[1] The nation has won the contest on two occasions: in 1968 with the song "La La La" performed by Massiel and in 1969 with the song "Vivo cantando" performed by Salomé, the latter having won in a four-way tie with France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Spain has also finished second four times, with Karina in 1971, Mocedades in 1973, Betty Missiego in 1979 and Anabel Conde in 1995. In 2022, Spain placed third with the song "SloMo" performed by Chanel.
The Spanish national broadcaster, Televisión Española (TVE), broadcasts the event within Spain and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. TVE confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest on 18 June 2022. Spain has selected their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest through both national finals and internal selections in the past. Along with their participation confirmation, the broadcaster revealed details regarding their selection procedure and announced the organization of Benidorm Fest 2023 in order to select the 2023 Spanish entry.[2]
Before Eurovision
Benidorm Fest 2023
Benidorm Fest 2023 was the song festival organised by RTVE and Generalitat Valenciana that took place at the Palau Municipal d'Esports l'Illa de Benidorm in Benidorm, Valencian Community, hosted by Mónica Naranjo, Inés Hernand and Rodrigo Vázquez.[3][4] Eighteen artists and songs competed over three shows: two semi-finals on 31 January and 2 February 2023 and the final on 4 February 2023.
The semi-finals were broadcast on two nights of the same week, and the voting consisted of voting system consisted the televote (50%), a demoscopic panel of judges made up of a sample of the Spanish population selected by statistical and demoscopic criteria (25%), and a national and international jury vote (50%).[5] Nine acts competed in each semifinal, with the top four advancing to the final.[6]
Semi-finals
- The first semi-final took place on 31 January 2023. "Quiero arder" performed by Agoney, "Yo quisiera" performed by Alice Wonder, "Mi familia" performed by Fusa Nocta and "Arcadia" performed by Megara advanced to the final, while "Flamenco" performed by Aritz, "Aire" performed by Sharonne, "No nos moverán" performed by Meler, "Sayonara" performed by Twin Melody and "Tuki" performed by Sofía Martín were eliminated.[7]
- The second semi-final took place on 2 February 2023. "Eaea" performed by Blanca Paloma, "Nochentera" performed by Vicco, "Quiero y duelo" performed by Karmento and "Inviernos en Marte" performed by José Otero advanced to the final, while "Desde que tú estás" performed by Alfred García, "Que esclati tot" performed by Siderland, "La Lola" performed by Famous, "Uff!" performed by E'Femme and "Tracción" performed by Rakky Ripper were eliminated.[8]
Final
The final took place on 4 February 2023 and consisted of the eight entries that qualified from the two preceding semi-finals.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Expert jury | Demoscopic jury | Televote | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karmento | "Quiero y duelo" | 35 | 20 | 25 | 80 | 6 |
| 2 | Megara | "Arcadia" | 50 | 28 | 28 | 106 | 4 |
| 3 | Alice Wonder | "Yo quisiera" | 53 | 16 | 20 | 89 | 5 |
| 4 | Fusa Nocta | "Mi familia" | 24 | 25 | 22 | 71 | 8 |
| 5 | Agoney | "Quiero arder" | 80 | 30 | 35 | 145 | 2 |
| 6 | Blanca Paloma | "Eaea" | 94 | 35 | 40 | 169 | 1 |
| 7 | José Otero | "Inviernos en Marte" | 37 | 22 | 16 | 75 | 7 |
| 8 | Vicco | "Nochentera" | 59 | 40 | 30 | 129 | 3 |
At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. As a member of the "Big Five", Spain automatically qualified to compete in the final on 13 May 2023. In addition to its participation in the final, Spain was also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. This was decided via a draw held during the semi-final allocation draw on 31 January 2023, when it was announced that Spain would be voting in the second semi-final.[9]
Spain received 95 points from the jury while coming last in the televoting (5 points), ultimately receiving a combined score of 100 points and placing 17th.[10] Blanca Paloma's participation was labeled a "failure" by some media outlets and some members of the public in Spain.[11][12][13]
Voting
Points awarded to Spain
| Score | Televote | Jury |
|---|---|---|
| 12 points | ||
| 10 points | Portugal | |
| 8 points | Latvia | |
| 7 points | ||
| 6 points | ||
| 5 points | United Kingdom | |
| 4 points | Australia | |
| 3 points | Portugal | |
| 2 points | Rest of the World | |
| 1 point |
Points awarded by Spain
Detailed voting results
The following members comprised the Spanish jury:
- Aaron Sáez Escolano – musician, member of Varry Brava
- Francisco Javier Viñolo Linares – stage director, dancer, choreographer
- Estefanía García – coordinator of the RTVE Choir and Orchestra
- Marta Sánchez Gómez – singer
- Victoria Leonor Gómez – dancer, choreographer
| Draw | Country | Jury | Televote | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juror 1 | Juror 2 | Juror 3 | Juror 4 | Juror 5 | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | ||
| 01 | Austria | 14 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 17 | 17 | 18 | ||
| 02 | Portugal | 3 | 13 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 4 |
| 03 | Switzerland | 8 | 17 | 14 | 19 | 8 | 12 | 19 | ||
| 04 | Poland | 17 | 23 | 18 | 24 | 20 | 24 | 11 | ||
| 05 | Serbia | 20 | 21 | 24 | 15 | 23 | 23 | 24 | ||
| 06 | France | 4 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 12 | |
| 07 | Cyprus | 11 | 11 | 13 | 22 | 5 | 11 | 15 | ||
| 08 | Spain | |||||||||
| 09 | Sweden | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 5 |
| 10 | Albania | 19 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 21 | 25 | ||
| 11 | Italy | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 6 |
| 12 | Estonia | 6 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 23 | |
| 13 | Finland | 24 | 9 | 25 | 4 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| 14 | Czech Republic | 23 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 22 | 21 | ||
| 15 | Australia | 16 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 14 | 22 | ||
| 16 | Belgium | 12 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 3 |
| 17 | Armenia | 9 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 2 |
| 18 | Moldova | 21 | 24 | 23 | 17 | 19 | 25 | 10 | 1 | |
| 19 | Ukraine | 18 | 14 | 17 | 23 | 9 | 15 | 2 | 10 | |
| 20 | Norway | 5 | 7 | 21 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 21 | Germany | 10 | 15 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 14 | ||
| 22 | Lithuania | 13 | 18 | 11 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 16 | ||
| 23 | Israel | 2 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 7 |
| 24 | Slovenia | 22 | 22 | 10 | 25 | 24 | 20 | 13 | ||
| 25 | Croatia | 25 | 25 | 19 | 9 | 25 | 19 | 17 | ||
| 26 | United Kingdom | 15 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 20 | ||
Notes
References
- ^ "Spain Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
- ^ Grace, Emily (18 June 2022). "🇪🇸 Spain: RTVE To Launch Benidorm Fest Next Month". Eurovoix. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ rtve.es (19 July 2022). "Benidorm Fest 2023: Las fechas y los cambios del concurso". RTVE.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ "Estos son los tres presentadores del 'Benidorm Fest 2023'". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 18 November 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ Farren, Neil (19 July 2022). "🇪🇸 Spain: Benidorm Fest 2023 Details Revealed". Eurovoix. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ Martínez, Héctor Llanos (19 July 2022). "Mónica Naranjo presentará un Benidorm Fest 2023 todavía más grande para encontrar a la nueva Chanel". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ Baugh, Samuel George (1 February 2023). "Benidorm Fest 2023: Agoney wins semi-final 1, topping jury and televote". wiwibloggs. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (3 February 2023). "🇪🇸 Spain: Benidorm Fest 2023 Finalists Selected". Eurovoix. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ "Eurovision 2023: Allocation Draw results". eurovision.tv. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ "Blanca Paloma, la gran damnificada del televoto". La Vanguardia. 13 May 2023.
- ^ "Blanca Paloma y el fracaso cantado de España que nadie vio venir". Diario de Sevilla. 14 May 2023.
- ^ "Las claves del desastre de Blanca Paloma en Eurovisión: del televoto a la incomprensión". El Mundo. 14 May 2023.
- ^ "Cinco expertos analizan Eurovisión: ¿qué falló en la actuación de Blanca Paloma? ¿Es Suecia una justa ganadora?". El País. 14 May 2023.
- ^ a b c "Results of the Grand Final of Liverpool 2023". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ "Results of the Second Semi-Final of Liverpool 2023". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
External links
- Official TVE Eurovision website