| Benidorm International Song Festival Festival Internacional de la Canción de Benidorm | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Spanish music |
| Dates | Variable |
| Location(s) | Benidorm, Spain |
| Years active | 1959–2006 2022–present (as Benidorm Fest) |
The Benidorm International Song Festival (Spanish: Festival Internacional de la Canción de Benidorm), until 2004 simply Benidorm Song Festival (Spanish: Festival de la Canción de Benidorm), was an annual song contest held in the city of Benidorm, Spain. The contest, based on the Italian Sanremo Music Festival, was created to promote Benidorm and Spanish music.
It originally ran from 1959 to 2006 (except in 1979, 1984 and from 1986 to 1992, when it was not held) and used to take place in the summer. After 2006, it did not take place again through 2021, when a revamped version of the festival, under the name Benidorm Fest, was announced by Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE) and the Generalitat Valenciana to serve as the platform to select the Spanish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, starting in 2022.[1]
The festival has undergone considerable modifications over the years, for example in the prizes. In 2004, it went from national to international. The contest was usually broadcast on television by REM (1959), TVE (1960–1985, 1997–2005), Telecinco (1993–1996) or Canal Nou (1997–2006).