Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 1976

Spain was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1976 with the song "", written and performed by Braulio. The Spanish participating broadcaster, (TVE), selected its entry through a national final. The song, performed in position 12, placed sixteenth out of eighteen competing entries with 11 points.

Before Eurovision

National selection

(TVE) held the national selection of its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1976 at its studios in Prado del Rey, hosted by and , and aired on TVE 1. It consisted of three special shows of its regular musical program , specifically staged and titled for the occasion . All the twenty-eight songs in competition were presented on 8 February 1976, were performed again on 15 February, and the final results were revealed on 28 February. (RNE) also aired all the songs on : on 9–13 February it aired six songs each day on its regular program , and on 14 February it aired all the songs in a special broadcast. Fourteen performers participated, each one with two songs, accompanied by the RTVE Light Symphony Orchestra conducted by Agustín Serrano. The winner was chosen by postal vote with a voucher printed in several weekly magazines. Only the top four songs with the most votes were revealed.

Controversy over voting vouchers

Nearly 85,000 votes were received. Controversy arose when it was discovered that some participating artists' teams had abused the voting system by collecting votes for their candidate.

Promotion

On 1 April 1976, TVE aired on TVE 1 a special program dedicated to Braulio titled , directed by Miguel Lluch, and filmed on location in the Canary Islands.

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 1976 was held on 3 April 1976 at the in The Hague, the Netherlands. Braulio performed "" twelfth in the running order, following and preceding . Joan Barcons conducted the event's orchestra performance of the Spanish entry. The song received 11 points, coming sixteenth in a field of eighteen.

TVE broadcast the contest in Spain on TVE 1 with commentary by José Luis Uribarri. Before the event, TVE aired a talk show hosted by José María Íñigo introducing the Spanish jury, which continued after the contest commenting on the results.

Voting

TVE assembled a jury panel with eleven members. The following members comprised the Spanish jury:

• Alfonso Lapeña – Head of Broadcasting at TVE (chairperson)
• – sculptor
• Ángel Nieto – motorcycle racer
• – actor
• – actress
• – journalist
• Pedro Gutiérrez "" – bullfighter
• Florentino Casanova – student
• – actress
• Ana Alonso – student
• Cristina Galbó – actress

The secretary and spokesperson was José María Íñigo. The jury awarded its maximum of 12 points to the .

Notes

References