One of the issues that drew the most comments at Benidorm Fest 2022 was the debate over whether the jury, when choosing Spain’s representative at Eurovision, had placed too much weight on the tastes of the audience. In fact, it was the support of the professionals that gave Chanel the victory, ahead of the crowd’s favorites, more vulnerable Rigoberta Bandini and Tanxugueiras. The matter reached Congress before the Spanish-Cuban finally took third place in Turin.
This year, RTVE, organizer of the competition, has already explained how the voting system will be both in the two semi-finals (Tuesday and Thursday) and in the final of the 2023 edition, which will take place from January 31st to January 4th. February in the city of Alicante and which again serves as the Spanish preselection for the European Song Festival.
The assessment of the expert jury is weighted at 50% at the three galas. The other half will go to the public vote, although in this case it will be divided into two: 25% will correspond to the demoscopic jury – a statistical selection of 350 people representing the Spanish population – and 25% will depend on the televoting is by the messages and phone calls made by viewers of each of the live galas.
In 2022, the shared professional past of the singer, actress and dancer Chanel and a jury member, the choreographer Miryam Benedited, caused controversy among some audiences. In this edition, the Benidorm Fest tries to avoid such suspicions by approaching the pre-selection model of other countries. For this reason, the panel of experts includes more international than national members. There are eight in total: five foreigners and three Spaniards. They will all stay away from the media in the days leading up to the vote and will not attend the numerous meetings with the public and press conferences organized by RTVE during the week of Benidorm Fest.
The singer and actress Nina will be the speaker of the jury of the Benidorm Fest 2023. Gtresonline
Speaker of this jury is the singer and actress Nina. Joining them are Irene Valiente, director of El último lugar, a Radio 3 program specializing in urban music, and Juan José Santana, a music composer who has been associated with several countries’ Eurovision candidates for years. The five international pros include Christer Björkman, member of the Eurovision production team and head of Melodifestivalen – the successful Swedish Eurovision preselection – between 2002 and 2021; Tali Eshkoli, head of the Israeli delegation at the European Song Contest; Nicola Caligiore, former head of the Italian delegation; Katrina Leskanich, leader of the group Katrina & the Waves, with which she won Eurovision in 1997; and William Lee Adams, BBC presenter and founder of wiwibloggs, a reference medium specializing in Eurovision.
Agoney, Alice Wonder, Aritz Aren, Fusa Nocta, Megara, Meler, Sharonne, Sofía Martín and Twin Melody will take part in the first semi-final on Tuesday 31st January. Alfred García, Blanca Paloma, E’Femme, Famous, José Otero, Karmento, Rakky Ripper, Siderland and Vicco will do so in the second, which will take place on Thursday February 2nd. Some of them spent that short time on the RTVE orange carpet that kicked off the festival and had to go to the nightly rehearsals at the Palau d’Esports L’Illa in Benidorm, the venue of the competition. [Aquí puedes consultar los perfiles de todos ellos]. The three galas will be moderated by Mónica Naranjo, Rodrigo Vázquez and Inés Hernand.
How the votes are divided
Nine artists will participate in each of the two semi-finals and only four of them will advance to the final. 912 points are distributed for the decision. The half corresponding to the expert jury (456 points) is divided, with each of its eight members awarding 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2 points to the applicants. The demoscopic jury awards its 25% (228 points) and gives the singers 40, 35, 30, 28, 25, 22, 20, 15 and 13 points. And the televote gives its 228 points the same way: 40 to the most supported artist with calls and messages, 35 to the second, and so on until the remaining 30, 28, 25, 22, 20, 15, and 13 points are delivered will.
Voting mechanics of the Benidorm Fest 2023.RTVE
The system in the finals on Saturday February 4th will be the same, but the number of points will be lower as there are only eight proposals left in the running. There will be 864 points. The eight professional voices are divided into eight bands: 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, and 2 until their 432 points are distributed. The demoscopic jury voting (216 points) has 40, 35, 30, 28, 25, 22, 20 and 16 points. And the same goes for the televote: 40 points for most votes, 35 for runners-up, and so on until 30, 28, 25, 22, 20, and 16 are reached.
And if the addition of 50% of the votes of the panel of experts and 50% of the popular vote results in a tie? The official bases released by RTVE clarify that only ties are decided in the semi-finals up to fourth place, which is the limit for access to the final. And in the final, a tie will only be decided if it affects the first place winner and Spanish representative at Eurovision. All other ties are not broken. In the event of a tie in the sum of the votes of the jury and the public, the proposal that receives the highest number of points from the expert jury wins.
There is another assumption where the eight experts will have more weight in the final decision. In the event that a technical defect prevents the audience from collecting votes during the live gala, the winner will be determined using the points awarded by the expert jury. If only one of the two popular votes fails (the demoscopic jury or the televote), the non-failed option represents 50% of the audience’s points.
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