Spanish public broadcaster Radiotelevisión Española will announce the selected contestants for Benidorm Fest 2027 on Tuesday, October 13, following the receipt of nearly 900 song entries for the national selection contest.
The announcement was made in Madrid during the presentation of the new television and radio season for RTVE, which also featured a special presentation on the upcoming Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Organizers confirmed that 350 of the submitted songs arrived in the final 24 hours before the registration deadline closed on Thursday at 10 p.m.
The 115-day submission window ran from April 6 to July 30, opening earlier than in previous years to give selectors more time to evaluate entries. RTVE plans to reveal the candidate songs around Thursday, December 17, before hosting the festival during the final week of January 2027.
Selection Process and Artist Invitations
A panel will now evaluate all submitted tracks to select 16 competing entries for the sixth edition of the festival. Under official contest rules, RTVE can expand the lineup to 20 songs if the selection committee decides the overall musical quality is high enough.
The broadcaster also retains the right to directly invite established performers and songwriters from the current music scene. Contest rules specify that the eventual winners must remain available to RTVE through the end of July 2027 for promotional events, television appearances, and potential participation in the European Broadcasting Union contest.
Updated Regulations and Artificial Intelligence Ban
RTVE updated several key regulations for the 2027 edition, including raising the minimum participant age from 16 to 18 years old. The new rules strictly ban AI-generated vocals and require all submitted compositions to be created entirely by human songwriters.
Songs must feature lyrics written predominantly in Spanish or one of Spain's co-official languages. Organizers have also banned any lyrics containing offensive statements, political messages, or commercial advertising.
All festival performances must take place live on stage without physical instruments, using pre-recorded musical backing tracks. While subtle vocal effects are allowed for aesthetic purposes, they cannot alter or disguise the main vocals, and backing vocals may not feature the lead singer's voice.
