The list of pre-selections was disclosed on 6 May 2021. The 8th awards added new categories both in film and television, Best Series Creator, Best Supporting Actor in Film and Best Supporting Actress in Film.
The film pre-selection had a 8% of titles from Mexico, followed by Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Spain and Portugal (with a 7% each). Regarding the television series, a 18% of titles were from Spain, followed by Mexico (14%), Argentina (12%) and Colombia (11%).
Pending the final nominations, the shortlist of candidates (20 per category) was revealed on 11 June 2021.
The nominations were announced on 19 July 2021 from the Madrid Town Hall by actresses Belén Rueda and Paulina García, director Manolo Caro and presenter Elena Sánchez. Miquel Iceta, Enrique Cerezo, Rebeca Grynspan, Marta Rivera, José Luis Martínez-Almeida and Adrián Solar also attended the event. The "Ibero–American Hymn" composed by Lucas Vidal was presented at the event, commemorating the Day of Ibero–America (19 July). Regarding the film section, the Colombian film Forgotten We'll Be and the Guatemalan film La llorona obtained the most nominations (11). The Spanish series Patria was the television series with the most nominations (5). The official poster was designed by Javier Mariscal.