Just as the dust starts to settle after the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon, the Spanish national broadcaster has announced that the auditions for OT 2018 will kick off on 30 May in Barcelona and will conclude in Madrid on 10 July.

Auditions for OT 2017 will be held throughout Spain; Madrid, Barcelona, Donostia, Alicante, Tenerife, Seville, Malaga, Vigo, Mallorca and Valencia. The rules of the competition will be published on TVE’s official website tomorrow.

The show is expected to kick off next fall with lots of surprises and exciting developments.

Will Spain select its 2019 Eurovision entry via OT 2018 ?

The Spanish national broadcaster opted for OT 2017 as the platform to select its Eurovision entry and act for Eurovision 2018. It is more than likely that Spain will select its 2019 Eurovision entry via Operación Triunfo 2018, despite the country’s poor placing in the competition in Lisbon. Amaia and Alfred represented Spain at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest with their entry Tu Cancion and geared up a massive fan following in Spain thanks to their participation. The talent show enjoyed high viewing rates and brought TVE back into the prime time slot in the country, as private channels Telecinco and Antena 3 dominate the prime time frame.

OT 2017 was a massive hit in Spain and was amongst the most popular programs in the country in the last six months. The Spanish broadcaster is yet to officially confirm its participation at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest and the mechanism it will use to select its song for Israel.

Operación Triunfo and Eurovision

Operación Triunfo kicked off in Spain in 2001 and TVE used it as the mechanism to select the 2002 Spanish Eurovision entry and act.

The first edition of the talent show was a massive hit in Spain, thus getting much exposure and mediatic coverage. Rosa Lopez was crowned the winner of OT 2001 and won the golden ticket to Tallinn with her song Europe’s living a celebration.

TVE used the same format for the following 2 years in order to select the Spanish Eurovision entry and act: Beth (2003) and Ramon (2004).

The Spanish national broadcaster axed the show after its third edition. In 2005, Spanish private television channel Tele Cinco revived the talent show and aired a total of 5 seasons and had no link to Eurovision.

We must not forget that 2 of the participants of the 4th edition of Operación Triunfo went on to represent Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest many after their participation: Soraya Arnelas (2009) and Edurne (2015).

The show was revived back in 2017 after a long break when it returned to TVE after a 13 year hiatus. Following the success of the show, the Spanish national broadcaster decided to use OT 2017 as the mechanism to select the 2018 Eurovision entry and act.

Alfred and Amaia to defended the Spanish colours at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon with Tu canción.

Spain in Eurovision

Spain debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1961 and has won the competition twice in 1968 and 1969. The country successfully hosted the epic 1969 Eurovision Song Contest in Madrid, where four nations walked away with the coveted Eurovision trophy.