As Spain announces its exit from Eurovision, where does that leave Benidorm Fest?
RTVE has confirmed that Spain will step away from the Eurovision Song Contest next year. The final decision kept Israel in the competition, and Spain has maintained its earlier stance by withdrawing. Even so, RTVE says its commitment to the Benidorm Fest “remains intact.”
Benidorm Fest: Best ever
RTVE president José Pablo López said the broadcaster is already working to make the 2026 Benidorm Fest its best yet. He added that RTVE will continue promoting the event as Spain’s main platform for new music.
RTVE ha decidido retirarse de Eurovisión pero nuestro compromiso con #BenidormFest sigue intacto y redoblaremos nuestros esfuerzos.
RTVE trabaja para que este 2026 tengamos el mejor #BenidormFest de nuestra historia y seguiremos dando lo mejor para su consolidación como el gran… pic.twitter.com/KGFrPyGyVA
— José Pablo López (@Josepablo_ls) December 4, 2025
The RTVE Board of Directors had already decided in September that Spain would not take part in Eurovision if Israel stayed in the line-up. Their reasoning focused on the war in Gaza and what they called Israel’s ongoing breach of contest rules.
Spain’s withdrawal means that RTVE will not broadcast the 2026 final in Vienna on 16 May. It will also skip the semi-finals on 12 and 14 May. In a statement, RTVE said that its secretary general, Alfonso Morales, defended the broadcaster’s position. He noted that José Pablo López had already told the Senate that the European Broadcasting Union’s measures to calm tensions were “insufficient”.
Morales went further. He said that RTVE had “serious doubts” about the participation of the Israeli broadcaster KAN in Eurovision 2026. He pointed to the situation in Gaza, the political use of the contest, and the difficulty of keeping Eurovision neutral. With support from seven other countries, RTVE secured a secret ballot for the vote.
Reforms to the voting system
RTVE also pushed for a vote on a one-year suspension of KAN. The Assembly rejected the proposal. It ruled that no specific vote on Israel was needed. Instead, members voted only on a package of reforms to the voting system. These reforms reduce the maximum number of viewer votes from twenty to ten. They add stronger safeguards against suspicious voting. They also restore jury voting in the semi-finals. The package passed with 738 votes in favour, 264 against, and 120 abstentions.
After the meeting, José Pablo López posted on X that the Assembly confirmed that Eurovision is “not a song contest” but an event shaped by “geopolitical and fractured interests”.
Government reactions came quickly. On Bluesky, Second Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz said she was proud that RTVE put human rights first. Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun called it the right decision and praised RTVE for placing human rights above financial concerns. Sira Rego, Minister for Youth and Childhood, thanked RTVE for refusing to take part and called it a stand for dignity. Podemos MEP Irene Montero said on X that the Government should go further and cut relations with Israel altogether.
Spain’s first Eurovision entry
Spain first entered Eurovision in 1961 with Conchita Bautista and Estando Contigo. It has missed the contest only once, in 2020, when the event was cancelled due to the pandemic. Every year, Eurovision remains Spain’s most-watched non-sporting broadcast. In 2025, the final drew more than a 50% viewing share and almost six million viewers.
