Benidorm Fest 2026
Benidorm Fest 2026 is the upcoming fifth edition of the annual Benidorm Fest, a television song contest held in Benidorm, organised and broadcast by RTVE. The show is scheduled to take place between 10 and 14 February 2026.
Format
The competition will consist of two semi-finals and a final. In total, 18 candidate songs will compete divided between the two semifinals, that is, nine will participate in each one. In each semifinal, the six songs with the most votes among a professional jury, a demoscopic panel and the televote, will qualify to the final. During the final, the twelve qualified songs will be performed again and the winner will determined following the same voting system as in the semi-finals. Starting from 2026, RTVE announced new features for the festival, such as a prize of €100,000 for the winning act and €50,000 for the songwriters.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. On 4 December 2025, after Israel was approved to participate, RTVE announced its non-participation at Eurovision. As a result, this will mark the first time in the festival's modern history that the winner is not given the chance to represent Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest. In addition to Spotify sponsoring a eponymous prize awarded to one of the participants, RTVE also announced a similar arrangement with TelevisaUnivision. Likewise, the main trophy design will be revamped, returning to the Golden Mermaid used in the original Benidorm International Song Festival.
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 Finland in the [Eurovision Song Contest 2025|UMK festival 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.Presenters
On 5 December 2025, Jesús Vázquez, Javier Ambrossi, Inés Hernand and Lalachus were announced as the hosts of the competition. In addition, each show will be preceded by an introductory segment on RTVE Play, titled Benidorm Calling and hosted by Lalachus, Ángela Fernández and Juanjo Bona, and the finale will be followed by a commentary show, titled La noche del Benidorm and hosted by Lalachus and Inés Hernand.Guest performers
On 8 January 2026, it was announced that Chanel, winner of the inaugural edition, will perform during both semi-finals and the final.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, and songs must contain at least 60% of the lyrics in one of the official languages of Spain. On 26 September 2025, RTVE revealed that 870 entries had been received, including 350 that arrived on the last day of submissions.The 18 participants, selected by a professional panel, were announced by on 9 October 2025 at Prado [del Rey (studios)|Prado del Rey]. The songs were announced on 18 December 2025.
| Artist | Song | Composer |
| Asha | "Turista" | |
| Atyat | "Dopamina" | |
| Dani J | "Bailándote" | Rafael Vergara Hermosilla |
| Dora and Marlon Collins | "Rakatá" | |
| "Sobran gilipo**as" | ||
| Greg Taro | "Velita" | |
| Izan Llunas | "¿Qué vas a hacer?" | |
| Kenneth | "Los ojos no mienten" | |
| Kitai | "El amor te da miedo" | |
| "No volveré a llorar" | ||
| "Bomba de amor" | ||
| Julia Medina | "Las damas y el vagabundo" | |
| Mayo | "Tócame" | |
| Mikel Herzog Jr. | "Mi mitad" | |
| Miranda! and Bailamamá | "Despierto amándote" | |
| Rosalinda Galán | "Mataora" | |
| The Quinquis | "Tú no me quieres" | |
| Tony Grox and Lucycalys | "T amaré" |