Viewers from outside of Spain will be able to help determine the song that Blas Canto will perform at Eurovision 2021.
Speaking to Jan Bors the Spanish Head of Delegation Ana Maria Bordas has revealed that voting in the Spanish national final for Eurovision 2021 will be open to viewers across the globe. She explained that:
not only the national but the international audience will have the possibility to vote for them on the RTVE online platform before the gala, since the system will not be closed due to geolocation. Then, at the gala you can also vote by phone call and SMS, as in Eurovision.
Anyone can vote from anywhere in the world for the songs. We discussed it with Blas and his team and it was a great idea for the audience to participate. In addition, we have all the legal instruments to ensure that the process is clean.
Spain is the third country to involve the public outside of their country in determining the song that will represent them at Eurovision 2021. The French national final saw voting lines opened up internationally, while Bulgaria has announced it is accepting feedback from fans to determine its song.
Blas Cantó was previously internally selected to represent Spain at the contest in 2020 with “Universo” however the contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly after the cancellation of the contest, Spanish broadcasters honoured their commitment to Blas by allowing him to return for the 2021 contest with a new entry.
Spain will be performing in the Grand Final of the contest automatically as they are a member of the Big 5. This will take place on Saturday the 22nd of May 2021. So far Blas is the only confirmed returning artist from last year’s Big 5, with Italy, France and Germany all selecting new artists in the coming weeks and the United Kingdom yet to announce a decision.
Image Source: Image Source: Sergio Ramirez Delgado | Source: Jan Bors / Eurovision Spain
Spain debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1961 and has competed annually since. Spain has won the contest on two occasions the first being in 1968 and the second time in 1969. 1969 is the only year where more than one song has won the contest. The 1969 contest saw a four-way tie between Spain, France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Since 2000 Spain has only managed to finish in the top 10 on five occasions, the last time being in 2014 with Ruth Lorenzo. However, the country has finished 20th or below on ten occasions, the worst placement being 26th in 2017.
