Watch: Tonight at 22:00 CET, the grand final of “Festival da Canção 2026” takes place, where the country’s entry will be chosen and face the desicion – Will they represent Portugal at Eurovision 2026? Link to watch the live broadcast – Below!
Tonight, Portugal’s “Festival De Canção 2026” reaches its grand final. Ten artists have advanced to the final out of 16 who competed across two semi-finals in recent weeks. The winner will be determined by a combination of 50% public vote and 50% from a local jury panel.
The grand final will take place at the Valentim de Carvalho studios in Lisbon. Hosting the event will be Vasco Palmeirim and Filomena Cautela, the co-host of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon. In the Green Room, Alexandre Guimarães and Catarina Maia will accompany the finalists throughout the evening.
The grand final will start at 22:00 and is expected to run until 01:00 CET.
Watch the grand final of “Festival da Canção 2026” live here!
“Festival da Canção 2026”: Running Order
- Gonçalo Gomes – Doce Ilusão (Refuses to represent Portugal in Eurovision 2026)
- Silvana Peres – Não tem fim (Refuses to represent Portugal in Eurovision 2026)
- Sandrino – Disposto a tudo
- Bandidos do Cante – Rosa
- João Ribeiro – Canção do Querer (Refuses to represent Portugal in Eurovision 2026))
- Dinis Mota – Jurei (Refuses to represent Portugal in Eurovision 2026)
- Nunca Mates o Madarim – Fumo (Refuses to represent Portugal in Eurovision 2026)
- Evaya – Sprint (Refuses to represent Portugal in Eurovision 2026)
- Andre Amaro – Dá-Me a Tua Mão
- Marquise – Chuva (Refuses to represent Portugal in Eurovision 2026)
Click on the song title to listen!
Who Will Represent Portugal?
660 songs were submitted this year for Portugal’s “Festival da Canção”, from which 16 advanced to the competition stage. However, this year, winning “Festival da Canção 2026” does not necessarily mean participating in Eurovision.
The group Bandidos do Cante and contestant Andre Amaro are the only ones who have confirmed that they will not boycott Eurovision. Contestant Sandrino has not yet expressed a position regarding his participation in the contest. The remaining 13 participants have officially stated that they will not take part in Eurovision if they win the competition, due to Israel’s participation.
Artists joining the protest movement:
- Dinis Mota
- Evaya
- Francisco Fontes
- Gonçalo Gomes
- Inês Sousa
- Jacaréu and Ana Margarida
- João Ribeiro
- Marquise
- Nunca Mates o Madarim
- Silvana Peres
Streaming Platforms Data:
According to YouTube viewership data for live semi-final performances, the group Bandidos do Cante currently leads with around 55,000 views. In second place is Andre Amaro, with about 44,000 views, followed by Dinis Mota with approximately 43,000 views.
On Spotify, Bandidos do Cante also take the lead, accumulating roughly 77,000 streams. Dinis Mota follows with about 53,000 streams, while the group Nunca Mates o Madarim ranks third with around 36,000 streams.
“Festival De Canção 2026” remains highly competitive, with several strong contenders vying for the victory. Encouragingly, those most eager to represent their country at Eurovision 2026 are also the ones achieving the strongest performance across streaming platforms — notably Bandidos do Cante with their song “Rosa”, and Andre Amaro with the song “Dá-Me a Tua Mão”.
In just a few hours, we will learn whether a new controversy will erupt in Portugal — if the winner declines to represent the country at Eurovision 2026, potentially forcing the Portuguese national broadcaster, RTP, to make difficult decisions or even alter its selection method. Alternatively, the storm may be avoided if one of the non-boycotting contestants triumphs and goes on to perform on the grand Eurovision stage this May.
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”.
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.
