RTP has unveiled initial details for “Festival da Canção 2025,” Portugal’s Eurovision selection. The 20 composers and competition dates are now announced, with the final set for March 8.

The Portuguese national broadcaster, RTP, has unveiled initial details about the Portuguese Eurovision national selection, “Festival da Canção 2025.” The first semi-final will take place on February 22, the second semi-final on March 1, and the final will occur on March 8 at RTP studios in Lisbon, where Portugal’s representative and song for Eurovision 2025 in Basel will be chosen.

RTP has also revealed the 20 songwriters who have composed songs for this year’s national selection. Of these, 14 were invited to write for the competition by RTP, while 6 were selected from an open call for song submissions conducted by the broadcaster. It is important to note that the composers can choose to perform their song in the competition themselves or select a singer to perform it, so some names on the list may be artists participating in the festival.

Invited Composers by RTP:

• A Cantadeira
• Beato
• Bluay
• Bombazine
• Emmy Curl
• EU.CLIDES
• Fernando Daniel
• Jéssica Pina
• Luca Argel
• Marco Rodrigues
• Margarida Campelo
• Os Napa
• Peculiar
• Tiago Sampaio

Composers Selected from the Open Submission Track:

• Capital da Bulgária
• Diana Vilarinho
• HENKA
• Inês Marques Lucas
• JOSH
• Xico Gaiato

The list of competing artists is expected to be revealed during January.

In the list of composers, two creators who have previously competed in the Portuguese Eurovision selection can be found:

• Fernando Daniel – competed in the national selection in 2017 with the song “Poema a dois,” which finished fifth in the final.
• EU.CLIDES – competed in the national selection in 2021 with the song “Volte-Face,” which finished eighth in the final.

Festival da Canção 2025 Format

As in previous years, Portugal’s national selection will span three evenings – two semi-finals and a final, taking place during February and March. The voting method and rules for the selection have not yet been published, but it is likely that the national selection will proceed as it does each year: ten songs will compete in each semi-final, with six songs from each round advancing to the final. It is expected that a total of 12 songs will compete in the grand final for the right to represent Portugal at Eurovision 2025. The winner of the final will be determined, according to annual rules, by a combination of public voting (50%) and jury voting (50%), similar to the Eurovision competition itself.

Portugal returns to Eurovision 2025 after finishing in a high eighth place at Eurovision 2024 in Malmö and after insisting on discussions with the European Broadcasting Union regarding events from the last Eurovision. What does the future hold for Portugal in Basel?

Source: Festival da Canção

Eurovision 2025: This will be Portugal’s 56th participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Portugal joined the competition in 1964 and achieved its best result in Eurovision 2017 when singer Salvador Sobral won first place with the song “Amar pelos dois.”