Andrea M. Rosa del Pino Benidorm
Benidorm
Updated Wednesday, January 31, 2024-9:30 p.m.
First semi-final Amazing staging, outlandish costumes, some roosters and surprising votes: this is how the Benidorm Fest started
MomenTVs Flood of criticism of Benidorm Fest and rightly so
Benidorm woke up this Wednesday hectic and, of course, so did X (formerly Twitter). And Tuesday was a day full of news in our city of skyscrapers: in the morning,
Inés Hernand
- one of the main faces of the Benidorm Fest - released some explosive statements at a press conference that encouraged a boycott of
Israel
's participation in
Eurovision
, and at night the networks burned with the first semi-final of the
Eurovision
preselection .
The gala began at 10:50 p.m., live from the
Palau d'Esports L'Illa in Benidorm,
where a thousand Eurofans and almost 200 journalists gathered. According to sources from the organization,
RTVE
hoped to attract millions of Spaniards through television. However, he was far from reaching his goal. The program only reached a
10.8% audience share
and barely exceeded one million viewers on average. Nothing to do with that stunning first edition.
According to the specialized press, the reasons behind the disaster in audiences could be two: the poor chosen schedule - which, it is rumored, was chosen to prevent the contest from competing with
El hormiguero
- and the poor sound quality that the public heard from home , which provoked the anger of fans on social networks.
María Eizaguirre
herself ,
RTVE
's communications director
and very involved in the organization of the festival, had to come out and give explanations. For her, the night was by no means a catastrophe. «The data is a little better than last year and the first semifinal was the second most watched program in its slot. In addition, more than 12,000 people voted through messages and calls. Even so, we understand that some did not like the schedule and we continue to think about that issue. And yes, we accept that there were sound problems,' she said.
«What happened was the following: all the sound and all the mixing that occurred in the Palau arrived in good quality to the mobile unit and the problem arose in the transmission. In one phase of the broadcast, interference was caused and we are already seeing how it can be solved," he continued, and acknowledged: "It is true that this year the sound quality of what comes from the pit has been increased and they are seeing if that has caused the distortion, which made the ambient sound sound louder than it should," he told the media.
The gala failed to lead the night and did not meet expectations: it barely exceeded one million viewers
Despite this, none of the participants in the first semifinal - a list composed of
Lérica
,
Noan
,
Sofía Coll
,
Mantra
,
Miss Caffeina
,
Quique Niza
,
Angy Fernández
and
Nebulossa
- raised any complaints about this technical problem. They all said they thought they heard each other well.
Although, as they confess, the four classified for the final did not even think about their performances when the gala ended. According to their own words, everyone was in a semi-catatonic state. "I am in
shock
. I have been on TV and in music for many years. But today I felt like I was new, like I was 16 years old again. I felt excited when I faced the stage, and excited to receive so much love. I had walked away from my singing career and tonight I was reborn a little. "I've been through difficult times and I'm waking up," said
Angy
, one of the favorites with her
I Know Who I Am
, at the end of the
show
.
"I feel the same. I'm shaking. I'm going to explode when I get out of here. Everything has been very strong. It was going out on stage, hearing the audience scream... And I started to shake. I left there thinking that I wanted to return, and I am very grateful that this is how it will be on Saturday. I'm in a cloud and I still can't believe it. But I really want to continue," declared the Catalan
Sofía Coll
, performer of
Here to Stay
, through tears , who got her third place in the final.
María Bas
, singer of the duo
Nebulossa
, who finished the night as first place, was so excited that she could barely open her mouth. «I am super grateful for everything that is happening, and also super nervous. I still don't believe it's true. I think of all those people singing with us
Zorra
, which is a hymn to freedom, and I shudder. The thing is that all this has implied a sacrifice for us. "It has been difficult to combine this project with our family life," said the duo's vocalist, a couple also off stage and parents of a 23-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son.
Interference in the broadcast led to poor sound from the televisions with too much ambient noise
The members of
Miss Caffeina
, with the fourth and final pass towards the bronze microphone, also acknowledged being emotionally affected by the avalanche of affection. «What nerves we have been through! We are used to playing at festivals, but this has nothing to do with it. This is television and we have taken the task with great responsibility. Although we have also tried to have a good time and for people to enjoy us. And I think we have achieved it, right?"
Alberto Jiménez
, leader of the group, asked the audience.
And what about those who did not qualify? Half were smiling and the other half were disappointed.
Lérica
– the duo formed by
Juan Carlos Arauzo
, former
Eurojunior
contestant , and
Tony
, brother of
Abraham Mateo
– said: “For us, this experience is a gift and we consider this trip as a learning experience.” The Basque
Noan
, for his part, said he was happy to have stepped onto such a media stage: "I have had the opportunity for people to discover me."
The
UPA Next
actor Quique Niza
- the least voted in the program - did not hide his sadness. "I am human and I know that I was not 10. But I dared, I went out and defended a risky staging," he said.
Mantra
, the trio made up of the former Auryn
Carlos Marco
,
Paula Pérez
and
Charly Weinberg
, who still cannot explain how they swept the televoting with 52% of the calls and SMS, but did not qualify, put a resigned touch on the night. "We have taken it as a meme, but we are still doing the math," they said.