[3] Based on the Benidorm International Song Festival with amendments to accommodate the Eurovision format, the contest consists of two semi-finals and a final, with the winner jointly determined through teams of judges and a public vote.
[5] On 29 September of the same year, the rules and mechanics were published, revealing the name of the revamped competition to be "Benidorm Fest" and that the first edition was scheduled to air at the end of January 2022.
[8] Following the 2024 edition of the competition, representatives of Benidorm's municipal council (including mayor Toni Pérez), the Department of Innovation, Industry, Commerce and Tourism of the Generalitat Valenciana, and RTVE travelled to the 74th Sanremo Music Festival, which also served as the Italian national final for Eurovision; municipal councillor Jesús Carrobles revealed that the aim was to start a collaboration between the two events.
[11] In response to criticism for the low televoting figures in 2024, attributed to the relatively high costs of telephone calls and SMS messages, RTVE managers stated the goal to make the public voting free by means of a mobile app from 2025.
[6] Voting during the three shows occurs through a combination of the following methods:[6][16] The theme music of Benidorm Fest, entitled "Vita est", was composed by the musician Pepe Herrero and it is performed by the RTVE Orchestra and Choir.
It is a symphonic piece inspired by classic themes such as "O Fortuna" from Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, combining it with modern compositions by composers such as Hans Zimmer.