Televisión Española's most popular television contest will feature representation from the island of Tenerife. San Juan de la Rambla has been officially selected by RTVE as one of the 12 municipalities that will be part of the new edition of the Grand Prix del Verano. The northern municipality will take on the responsibility of representing the Archipelago against 11 towns from across the national territory.
The public corporation introduced a modification to the selection criteria, increasing direct competition. For this season, RTVE lowered the minimum demographic threshold, allowing towns with populations between 3,000 and 10,000 inhabitants to participate, a change from the previous regulation which limited access to populations between 5,000 and 10,000 residents. This regulatory adjustment led to a massive call for entries, with 1,034 towns receiving the initial invitation. After a first screening, 83 municipalities advanced to the intermediate phase, with only 12 securing the final spot for the summer broadcasts.
San Juan de la Rambla successfully navigated this elimination process and will directly compete against representatives from 11 other autonomous communities. The official list of rivals includes Altura (Valencian Community), Balanegra (Andalusia), Blanca (Region of Murcia), Cantalejo (Castilla y León), Muros (Galicia), Polinyà (Catalonia), Pradejón (La Rioja), Pravia (Asturias), Quintanar del Rey (Castilla-La Mancha), Serranillos del Valle (Community of Madrid), and Zumárraga (Basque Country).
The presence of San Juan de la Rambla brings Tenerife back to the contest's lineup. The island has a significant history of participation in the format, with previous entries from Buenavista del Norte, Agache-Güímar, and El Sauzal in prior decades. The Archipelago approaches this event with high competitive standards following the results of the previous campaign, where San Sebastián de La Gomera was crowned the absolute winner, marking the first victory for a Canarian town in the program's contemporary era.
The Islands' historical record in the format is further complemented by the participations of Antigua and Pájara from the island of Fuerteventura, Firgas representing Gran Canaria, and Haría as the emissary for Lanzarote. San Juan de la Rambla will now measure its strengths against this structure of 11 confirmed peninsular rivals.
Canarias has already won the Grand Prix. San Sebastián de La Gomera emerged as the absolute champion after defeating Cubas de la Sagra (Madrid) in the grand final with a final score of 22 to 18 points, setting a new audience record for the RTVE format. This victory made the La Gomera town the first municipality from the Archipelago to win the television competition, with the team captained by mayor Angélica Padilla and supported by motorcycle champion Jorge Lorenzo.
The path to victory was decided in the final game, El Diccionario. The La Gomera delegation, with the management of mayor Angélica Padilla and cultural advisor Lourdes Armas López, alongside Jorge Lorenzo, secured the definitive triumph. The candidacy received institutional backing from the City Council of San Sebastián de La Gomera, the island's Cabildo, the Government of the Canary Islands, and the company GuaguaGomera.
