'%20id='ico-down'%20stroke='%23000000'%20stroke-width='1.5'%3e%3cg%20transform='translate(1092.250000,%20254.750000)'%3e%3cpolyline%20id='Path-2-Copy-4'%20transform='translate(5.500000,%202.750000)%20scale(1,%20-1)%20rotate(-180.000000)%20translate(-5.500000,%20-2.750000)%20'%20points='0%200%205.5%205.5%2011%200'%3e%3c/polyline%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e){kind=small}
29 January 2004
LAS PALMAS – A teenager from the Canary Islands has beaten other contenders to represent Spain in this year’s Eurovision Song Festival.
Hundreds of thousands of television viewers watched the nationwide broadcast on Wednesday night, as 18-year-old Ramón del Castillo, was chosen by 38.8 percent of Spanish viewers who phoned in their votes, well ahead of his rivals, contest officials said.
Del Castillo, from the island of Gran Canaria, will now represent Spain at the 49th annual Eurovision Song Festival which is to be held May 15 in Istanbul.
The young singer will perform “Para Llenarme de Ti” (To Fill Me With You), a song written by Kike Santander.
Turkey was last year’s winner and so hosts the following contest which is viewed by millions around Europe and the Middle East.
According to local officials of Spain’s state-owned RTVE network, a record 67.9 percent of the Canary Islands’ television viewers, or 371,000, tuned in at one point to watch the programme.
Nationally, the show was seen by four million people.
As the programme began, 22.7 percent of the total number of Spaniards watching television on Wednesday night were tuned in and the percentage slowly increased to 47.6 before it ended after midnight.
[Copyright EFE with Expatica]
Subject: Spanish news