Broadcasters from twenty-two countries participated in this edition of the OTI festival. The OTI members, public or private broadcasters from Spain, Portugal, and twenty Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries of
Ibero-America signed up for the festival. From the countries that participated in the previous edition, the
Netherlands Antilles did not return, while
Aruba participated in the festival for the first time since the country gained independence from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986. Some of the participating broadcasters, such as those representing
Aruba, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras,
Mexico, and the
United States, selected their entries through their regular national televised competitions. Other broadcasters decided to select their entry internally. Two artists returned to the festival representing other countries: Eduardo Fabián representing Uruguay, had won the festival representing the
United States in 1986, along Dámaris Carbaugh and ; while Aldo Matta representing Puerto Rico had represented the
United States in 1981. == Festival overview ==