#SPAIN: Live Blog of Benidorm Fest from 21.00GMT/22.00CET

Tonight Spain decides who will win their Golden Ticket to the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö in May. Eight acts have made it through the semi-finals. Who will win?

We at Eurovision Ireland will be blogging the action as it happens. Will you agree with our views on the songs? Feel free to tell us what you think. You can watch the action HERE. All times below are in GMT.

22.58 – Thanks for tuning into this blog. Tell us what you think of the result. Was it the right song? And goodnight from Eurovision Ireland!

22.55 – We have a result!!!!

22.55 – 30 for Angy. 40 points for Nebulossa. 35 for Jorge Gonzalez

22.54 – 22 for Sofía Coll. 25 for St Pedro. 28 for Almádor

22.53 – 16 for Miss Caffeina. 20 for María Paláe

22.52 – Time for the public vote…

22.51 – The results currently look like this…

22.50 – 28 for St Pedro. 30 for Nebulossa. 40 for Jorge González and 35 for Angy

22.49 – 16 for Miss Caffeina. 20 for Almácor. 22 for Sofía Coll. 25 for María Paláe

22.49 – Over to the Demoscopic votes…

22.48 – After the jury the results are as follows

22.47 – Nebulossa gets 86. And St Pedro also gets 86

22.46 – Jorge González gets 49 votes. Almácor gets 51 votes. Angy Fernández gets 63 votes

22.45 – Miss Caffeina get 27 votes. Sofía Coll gets 29. María Paláe gets 41 votes.

22.44 – The votes of the jury first…

22.43 – We’re getting close to results time

22.37 – Another interval act. It’s Camela. Singing Sueño contigo

22.36 – Phone lines are closed. They just need to tot up the marks now.

22.34 – There’s a technical problem we’re told. The crowd don’t seem happy.

22.28 – Another recap for the public

22.25 – There are some very big sofas in the Green Room, some with only a few people sat at them. They seem lost.

22.23 – Time for some Green Room chat now. The acts tell us stuff.

22.19 – We’re back and it’s interval time. Abraham is on stage. He goes down a storm

22.16 – Time for adverts and trailers. Back shortly

22.10 – The lines for the public vote are open. You can vote by telephone or by SMS/text.

22.08 – Almácor is using augmented reality for his performance. The odd effect based on his outfit here and there. His suit is oversized and is very fluffy. It reminds me of something in a recent Sanremo, but it’s not quite as classy. The vocal seems a little quiet too. Having said that, the foot is tapping. Not sure why though. And there are pyros. That might not be a good sign.

22.04 – Our final song – song 8 – comes from Almácor. It’s called Brillos platino

22.03 – A band! Who knew? The lead singer also starts off lying on a prop that resembles a large square with railings atop it. The band are a trio, all in blue, and he has three dancers in long black raincoats. The song is OK, but I think others will beat it. It doesn’t quite have the oomph of other songs we’ve seen tonight. In fact, it relies a lot on some ‘innovative’ choreography to see it through.

21.58 – Song 7 comes from Miss Caffeina. It’s called Bla bla bla

21.57 – Sofia has a big hat. It’s pale blue. As is her outfit. And she starts her song on a large pink spiral staircase. She joins five dancers who gyrate around her as she sings in Spanish and English. It’s another with a very heavy dance beat. Maybe it would suit a Melodifestivalen if it doesn’t win tonight. ;-) By the end of the song she’s changed into gold lamé and gone back to the top of her staircase. Not bad at all.

21.52 – Onto song 6. Sofia Coll sings Here to stay

21.51 – This has an 80s vibe to it. Or a clubby 90s vibe maybe. The singer is dressed in a big sleeved outfit and has two dancers flanking her – in bodices. Hmmm. But this definitely has something about it. It’s catchy (annoyingly so) and even the crowd are singing along to it. That could be your winner.

21.46 – Song 6 is called Zorra. It’s from Nebulossa

21.45 – Dancers. And boxes. Ani Lorak? Of course not. Jorge wears very little, as do his dancers. It’s a very latino beat, with a sound that sounds a bit early video game. In fact, it’s Slomo part two, only with a very male vocalist. Could be a contender.

21.40 – Song 4 comes from Jorge González. It’s called Caliente

21.39 – Angy starts off by lying on the stage. She has red hair – akin to Malta’s Jessika Muscat. There are a lot of effects, like her on a big screen in monochrome. And walls. It’s a catchy, almost rocky, little number, especially when two dancers in black gimp suits appear. It even has a couple of instrumentalists. It will wake some people from their slumbers no doubt.

21.34 – And now we’re getting trailers. Something about making costumes.

21.33 – We’re getting a quick message about voting.

21.30 – Song 3 next. It’s Angy Fernández singing Sé quién soy

21.29 – More guitar-ey stuff to open. St Pedro is on black and is carrying a single red rose. It could be for the young lady in silhouette. She dances like those you’d see in those 1960s pop shows. The style is lounge song. You’re there eating your favourite tapas with a bottle of Rioja, and he’s there serenading everyone. It’s not bad, and could hit the mark in some quarters.

21.24 – Song 2 now. It’s Dos extraños (Cuarteto de cuerda), by St Pedro

21.23 – There’s flamenco aplenty here. María has a guitar and four male dancers wearing very little. It’s a very wordy song with a heavy clappy backbeat. Just what you’d expect from flamenco. It’s got a tune, but it might not be the easiest to sing along to, or bop along to at that Eurovision disco. Still it could only be Spanish.

21.18 – Time for song 1. It’s María Paláe singing Remitente

21.15 – We now meet the ‘jurado’. How near the mark will they be?

21.13 – We get a quick explanation as to how the voting will work. You can see that below.

21.11 – Here are our hosts for the night.

21.09 – We’ve finished dancing in the rain. And we hear briefly from the eight finalists.

21.06 – We start with Ruth Lorenzo. Remember her?

21.05 – And we’re about to kick off. Not late at all.

Author: John Stanton

Source: Eurovision Ireland