Benidorm Fest Takes Shape Three Weeks Before the 'Euro Event'

On Tuesday, January 28th (exactly three weeks from now), the Palau d'Esports l'Illa de Benidorm will host the first of the semi-finals of the fourth edition of the Benidorm Fest. This musical, television, tourism, and festive event, brought by TVE, returns once more to the tourist capital of the Costa Blanca to select the Spanish representative for the upcoming Eurovision edition, which will be held at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, in mid-May.

Following the victories of Chanel with 'SloMo' in 2022, Blanca Paloma with 'Eaea' in 2023, and Nebulossa with 'Zorra' in 2024, the 'Euro Event' already knows the contenders who will seek to replicate the success of the first edition's winner in Switzerland, a feat not achieved by the subsequent two Valencian entries in the following years.

To ensure that Benidorm Fest 2025 is as successful with audiences (both in-person and television) as in previous years, the venue hosting the two semi-finals (January 28th and 30th) and the final (February 1st), the Palau d'Esports l'Illa de Benidorm, has already begun its transformation into a grand television set.

For this purpose, during the past weekend, the sports facility was dismantled by "a team of about 30 people who worked practically around the clock," as explained by the city's Events Councillor, Jesús Carrobles.

Thanks to this effort, Carrobles explained, the venue is now ready to welcome the RTVE technicians responsible for shaping the grand stage from which the next Spanish Eurovision representative will emerge.

All of this, the councillor emphasized, was done with special attention to minimizing the impact on a facility primarily intended for sporting events. Therefore, "special care was taken to protect the central pavilion's sports courts."

Carrobles detailed that "up to three different protective materials have been placed over the sports courts' flooring." Specifically, "a surface of 'bateco', a protective sports flooring, was first laid down," and on top of it, "3,500 meters of plywood were installed."

Subsequently, "state-of-the-art technical floors" consisting of 1,200 square meters of Alucover and 2,000 square meters of Cover Floor were installed. In addition to protecting the courts' flooring, this initial phase also involved "the dismantling of the stands."

Once the conditioning phase is completed, it is expected that this Tuesday, RTVE's vehicles and personnel will arrive in the city to handle the stage assembly and the rest of the venue's infrastructure for the Benidorm Fest.

Jesús Carrobles indicated that with the venue's assembly, "we are kicking off the fourth edition of our Benidorm Fest, which we hope and work towards being another success."