He Benidorm Festival returned this year with a long list of new features. Among them, Spain’s non-participation in Eurovision stands out, motivated by the conflict with the EBU due to Israel’s presence at the festival. Changes were also introduced the budget, the sound, the realization and even the presenters.
Inés Hernand, at Benidorm Fest 2026
In this first semi-final they performed OTHERMaría León and Julia Medina, Main colorsGreg Taro,Izan Lunas, Dora and Marlon Collins, Mikel Herzog Jr.., Kenneth and Tony Grox and LUCYCALYS. Unlike previous years, of the nine participants, only three are eliminated and the other six are classified for the grand final on Saturday.
He Benidorm Festivalwhich since its creation has established itself as a pre-selection for Eurovision, this year focuses its proposal on discovering new talents and rewarding performers and composers with an important economic premium.
Benidorm Festival 2026
In 2026, the festival’s winning proposal will not only lift the mythical little mermaid trophy, but, for the first time in the competition’s history, will win a financial prize of 150,000 euros: 100 thousand for the performers and 50 thousand for the authors of the music.
Furthermore, the festival will reward talent with two new opportunities. An artist will travel to Stockholm to record a single at Spotify’s main studio, while another will move to Miami, thanks to Univision, to promote his career on prime-time television shows and record a single with an internationally renowned music producer.
Also read
The networks sentence the first semi-final of Benidorm Fest 2026
Although some users highlighted an improvement in terms of execution, there were repeated comments that questioned both the tuning level, the selected artists, the songs and even the stagingwhich were also criticized.
