TVE placed another Christmas Eve bet on its trusted formula, delivering a show anchored by familiar faces and a sense of festive resilience. This time, Ana Obregón and Mario Vaquerizo guided the broadcast, steering a program built around the theme of imperfect takes and the chaos that inevitably accompanies live performances. The central thread remained a belief in the show’s ability to recover from hiccups with humor and warmth, a tone that keeps the audience engaged even when things don’t go exactly as planned.
From that core premise, the set welcomed a wave of familiar personalities from the network’s roster. Rodrigo Vázquez, Alaska, Jandro, Lucrecia, Barry Brava, Carlos Higes, Nieves Álvarez and others stepped into the frame, each contributing their own energy to the episodic mosaic of guests. Their appearances added variety and texture to the evening, turning the broadcast into a mosaic of conversations, performances and spontaneous moments that fans have come to expect from the tradition of this annual celebration.
Musical numbers unfolded across multiple cities, with locations including Madrid, Barcelona, Córdoba and, of course, Benidorm. The itinerary underscored a recurring theme: the city of Alicante has become a cultural focal point for a public that has grown to associate Benidorm Fest with national pride and Eurovision aspirations. The festival’s footprint extended beyond the stage, reminding viewers that a single event can federate fans across regions and national borders, creating shared memory and anticipation for what lies ahead.
The broadcast also carried in-camera winks and nods to past moments of the Benidorm Fest narrative. One of the most talked-about sequences online featured Elena S. Sánchez and Cayetana Guillén Cuervo. They appeared in a moving vehicle, belatedly accompanied by a towering prop behind them, a homage that linked contemporary performance with the show’s broader theatrical language. The moment captured the playful, meta-textual humor that has become a hallmark of the festival’s modern era, where stagecraft and social media interplay create a broader conversation around what live television can do in 2024 and beyond. This playful interlude resonated with audiences who follow the festival closely across platforms, prompting discussions about staging, symbolism and the evolving relationship between presenters and fans. Attributions for this segment highlight the collaboration between the broadcasting team and the talent, illustrating how the festival leverages familiar faces to amplify its reach. (Source attributions: TVE broadcast notes)
Across the night, commentators and viewers alike saw how Benidorm Fest is more than a competition. It functions as a cultural event that stitches together regional pride, pop sensibility and a communal sense of belonging. The choice of cities on the tour underscores an active effort to democratize access to the festival experience, bringing performances to diverse urban centers and allowing a broader audience to partake in the excitement, discussion and anticipation that characterize Eurovision-era programming. Observers in Canada and the United States have noted that while the event is distinctly Iberian in its roots, its appeal travels with universal traits: spectacle, storytelling and a shared spontaneity that translates well on screens far from the Spanish coast. (Cited coverage: festival reviews and audience surveys)