The Portuguese national broadcaster RTP has announced that the competing songs for “Festival Da Canção 2026” will be revealed on January 22nd at 12:30 CET. The winner will earn the right to represent Portugal at Eurovision 2026 in Vienna, Austria.
The Portuguese national broadcaster RTP announced on its Instagram page on Wednesday that the 16 songs competing in the traditional “Festival da Canção 2026” will be revealed in two weeks, on January 22nd at 12:30 CET. The long-running festival, which has undergone several name changes over the decades, has served as Portugal’s platform for selecting its Eurovision representative since the country joined the contest in 1964. However, this year it remains uncertain whether the winner will represent Portugal at Eurovision 2026, to be held in Vienna, Austria. As previously reported, 13 contestants have declared that they will not take part in Eurovision if Israel remains in the competition.
The 16 contestants are equally divided into two semi-finals, scheduled for February 21st and 28th. Five songs from each semi-final will qualify to the grand final, which will take place on March 7th.
“Festival Da Canção 2026”: Semi-Finals Allocation
First Semi-Final – Saturday, February 21st:
- Agridoce
- Evaya
- Marquise
- Djeodje
- Dinis Mota
- Bateu Matou
- Andre Amaro
- Nunca Mates o Madarim
Second Semi-Final – Saturday, February 28th:
- Bandidos do Cante
- Cristina Branco
- Inês Sousa
- Sandrina
- Jacaréu
- Francisco Fontes
- Gonçalo Gomes
- Rita Dias
660 songs were submitted this year for Portugal’s “Festival da Canção”, of which 16 reached the live competition stage. The band Bandidos do Canta is the only act that confirmed it will not boycott Eurovision, and will perform in the second semi-final against Sandrino, who has not yet expressed a position. André Amaro also remains silent on the issue and will compete in the first semi-final. Organizers explained that due to scheduling conflicts, Bandidos do Canta and Cristina Branco were automatically assigned to the second semi-final. As mentioned, 13 contestants have publicly stated they will not go to Eurovision if Israel participates and they win the national competition.
Artists joining the protest movement:
- Agridoce
- Evaya
- Inês Sousa
- Bateu Matou
- Gonçalo Gomes
- Dinis Mota
- Jacaréu
- Djodje
- Cristina Branco
- Marquise
- Nunca Mates o Madarim
- Francisco Fontes
- Rita Dias
הצגת פוסט זה באינסטגרם
How Will Portugal Choose Its Entry for Eurovision 2026?
The Portuguese national broadcaster RTP confirmed that the format of “Festival da Canção 2026” would remain unchanged, consisting of two semi-finals and one grand final, where the winner will be selected to represent Portugal in Vienna. In each semi-final, eight songs will compete, and five will advance to the final. A combined jury and public vote will choose four qualifiers, while the fifth qualifier will be decided solely by the public.
A total of 16 songs will take part in the competition: eight invited by the broadcaster, six submitted through the open call, one selected by the songwriter of “Deslocado” (in English: “Displaced”), which represented Portugal in last year’s Eurovision, and the last through an innovative method named “Prova de Assecdo”. It was also revealed that the two semi-finals will take place in February 21st and 28th, while the grand final is scheduled for Saturday, March 7th, 2026.
Possible Implications – Could the Revolt Change Portugal’s Eurovision Selection Process?
The chances that one of the revolting participants will win “Festival da Canção 2026” are quite high (81.25%). But Bandidos do Canta’s commitment to representing the country certainly gives a hint of optimism.
In response to the turmoil, the Portuguese national broadcaster RTP stated last week that despite the artists’ revolt, the country will still send a representative to the upcoming contest in Vienna and clarified:
“Regardless of the decision taken by the artists who signed the declaration, whose content we understand, RTP will once again organize Festival da Canção and confirms its participation in Eurovision 2026, together with the overwhelming majority of EBU member countries”.
Although RTP sounds determined that the representative will be chosen through Festival da Canção, the issue raises many questions about the selection process – what will the broadcaster do if one of the boycotting artists wins the festival? Will it choose one of the four artists who did not sign the declaration? Might it replace the boycotting artists with other participants? Or will it instead select another artist entirely via an internal selection? For now, all that remains is to wait and see.
Dates of “Festival da Canção 2026”:
- First Semi-Final – Saturday, February 21st, 2026.
- Second Semi-Final – Saturday, February 28th, 2026.
- Grand Final – Saturday, March 7th, 2026.
“Deslocado” (in English: “Displaced”) is the song that will be performed by NAPA band, representing Portugal in Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland. Portugal finished 21st with 50 points, ranked 19th in jury vote and 21st in public vote.
Eurovision 2026: This will be Portugal’s 57th 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”.
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Ilay Gaist is a leading Israeli content creator and writer specializing in the Eurovision Song Contest. He is a well-known commentator with extensive expertise in the contest’s history, rules, and dynamics. His passion for Eurovision drives him to deliver rich, professional, and innovative content to his audience.
Ilay holds a bachelor’s degree in Arabic and has a multilingual background. He also engages in cultural research, with a particular focus on global culinary traditions and the evolution of local cuisines around the world.
