| Year: | 2023 |
| Country: | Spain |
| Preselection: | Benidorm Fest 2023 |
| Preselection Date: | Semi-finals: 31 January 2023 2 February 2023 Final: 4 February 2023 |
| Entrant: | Blanca Paloma |
| Song: | Eaea |
| Final Result: | 17th, 100 points |
Spain participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom, with the song "Eaea" performed by Blanca Paloma. The Spanish broadcaster Spanish; Castilian: [[Radiotelevisión Española]]|i=no (RTVE), together with the Generalitat Valenciana, organised Benidorm Fest in order to select the Spanish entry for the 2023 contest. 18 entries were selected to compete in the national final, which consists of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. Eight entries ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 4 February 2023, and the winner was determined by a combination of votes from an expert jury, a demoscopic panel and a televote.
As part of the "Big Five", Spain directly qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest.
See main article: Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest. Prior to the 2023 contest, Spain had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest sixty-one times since its first entry in .[1] The nation has won the contest on two occasions: in with the song "La La La" performed by Massiel and in with the song "Spanish; Castilian: [[Vivo cantando]]|i=no" performed by Salomé, the latter having won in a four-way tie with France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Spain has also finished second four times, with Karina in, Mocedades in, Betty Missiego in and Anabel Conde in . In, Spain placed third with the song "Spanish; Castilian: [[SloMo (Chanel song)|SloMo]]|i=no" performed by Chanel.
The Spanish national broadcaster, Spanish; Castilian: [[Televisión Española]]|i=no (TVE), broadcasts the event within Spain and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. TVE confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest on 18 June 2022. Spain has selected their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest through both national finals and internal selections in the past. Along with their participation confirmation, the broadcaster revealed details regarding their selection procedure and announced the organization of Spanish; Castilian: Benidorm Fest 2023 in order to select the 2023 Spanish entry.[2]
See main article: Benidorm Fest 2023. Benidorm Fest 2023 was the song festival organised by RTVE and Generalitat Valenciana that took place at the Catalan; Valencian: Palau Municipal d'Esports l'Illa de Benidorm|i=no in Benidorm, Valencian Community, hosted by Mónica Naranjo, Inés Hernand and Rodrigo Vázquez.[3] [4] Eighteen artists and songs competed over three shows: two semi-finals on 31 January and 2 February 2023 and the final on 4 February 2023.
The semi-finals were broadcast on two nights of the same week, and the voting consisted of voting system consisted the televote (50%), a demoscopic panel of judges made up of a sample of the Spanish population selected by statistical and demoscopic criteria (25%), and a national and international jury vote (50%).[5] Nine acts competed in each semifinal, with the top four advancing to the final.[6]
The final took place on 4 February 2023 and consisted of the eight entries that qualified from the two preceding semi-finals.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Expert jury | Demoscopic jury | Televote | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karmento | "Spanish; Castilian: Quiero y duelo|i=no" | 35 | 20 | 25 | 80 | 6 | |
| 2 | Megara | "Spanish; Castilian: Arcadia|i=no" | 50 | 28 | 28 | 106 | 4 | |
| 3 | Alice Wonder | "Spanish; Castilian: Yo quisiera|i=no" | 53 | 16 | 20 | 89 | 5 | |
| 4 | Fusa Nocta | "Spanish; Castilian: Mi familia|i=no" | 24 | 25 | 22 | 71 | 8 | |
| 5 | Agoney | "Spanish; Castilian: Quiero arder|i=no" | 80 | 30 | 35 | 145 | 2 | |
| 6 | Blanca Paloma | "Eaea" | 94 | 35 | 40 | 169 | 1 | |
| 7 | José Otero | "Spanish; Castilian: Inviernos en Marte|i=no" | 37 | 22 | 16 | 75 | 7 | |
| 8 | Vicco | "Spanish; Castilian: Nochentera|i=no" | 59 | 40 | 30 | 129 | 3 |
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. As a member of the "Big Five", Spain automatically qualified to compete in the final on 13 May 2023. In addition to its participation in the final, Spain was also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. This was decided via a draw held during the semi-final allocation draw on 31 January 2023, when it was announced that Spain would be voting in the second semi-final.[9]
Spain received 95 points from the jury while coming last in the televoting (5 points), ultimately receiving a combined score of 100 points and placing 17th.[10] The result was considered a "disappointment" by some media outlets and some members of the public in Spain.[11] [12]
The following members comprised the Spanish jury:
| + | ||||
| Draw | Country | Televote | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Points | |||
| 01 | 14 | |||
| 02 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 03 | 13 | |||
| 04 | 10 | 1 | ||
| 05 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 06 | 8 | 3 | ||
| 07 | 11 | |||
| 08 | 15 | |||
| 09 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 10 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 11 | 12 | |||
| 12 | 16 | |||
| 13 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 14 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 15 | 6 | 5 | ||
| 16 | 4 | 7 | ||
| + |