Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026

Portugal is set to be represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 with the song "Rosa", written by Duarte Farias, Francisco Pereira, Francisco Pestana, Francisco Raposo, Gonçalo Narciso, Gui Alface, José Carlos Coelho Almeida Tavares, Luis Aleixo, and Miguel Costa, and performed by the group Bandidos do Cante. The Portuguese participating broadcaster, Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP), selected its entry during the traditional national selection competition Festival da Canção.

Prior to the 2026 contest, Radiotelevisão Portuguesa (RTP) until 2003, and Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) since 2004, have participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Portugal fifty-six times since their first entry in 1964. They had won the contest on one occasion: in 2017 with the song "Amar pelos dois" performed by Salvador Sobral. Since the introduction of semi-finals to the format of the contest in 2004, Portugal has thus far managed to qualify to the final on nine occasions, the latest being in 2025, when "Deslocado" performed by Napa ultimately placed 21st in the final.

As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, RTP organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. The broadcaster had traditionally selected its entry for the contest via the music competition Festival da Canção, with exceptions in 1988 and 2005 when the entries were internally selected. RTP confirmed its participation in the 2026 contest on 4 December 2025,^[1][2] having previously announced that the winner of the 60th edition of Festival da Canção would "be eligible to represent Portugal" at the contest on 16 September 2025.^[3]

Festival da Canção 2026 was the 60th edition of Festival da Canção. Sixteen entries competed in the festival, which consisted of two semi-finals held on 21 and 28 February 2026, leading to a ten-song final on 7 March 2026.^[4] All three shows were broadcast on RTP1, RTP África, RTP Ásia, RTP América, and RTP Internacional as well as on radio via Antena 1 and online via RTP Play.^[5]

The format of the competition consisted of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. Each semi-final featured eight competing entries from which five advanced from each show to complete the ten-song lineup in the final. Results during the semi-finals were determined by the votes from a jury panel appointed by RTP and public televoting; the first four qualifiers were based on the 50/50 combination of jury and public voting where both streams of voting assigned points from 1–8, 10 and 12 based on ranking, while the fifth qualifier was determined by a second round of public televoting from the remaining entries. Results during the final were determined by the 50/50 combination of votes from seven regional juries and public televoting. Both the public televote and the juries assigned points from 1–8, 10, and 12 based on the ranking developed by both streams of voting.^[4]

Sixteen composers were selected by RTP through four methods: eight from direct invitation from RTP, six from selected from 660 submissions received through an open call, one from the invitation of Napa, the 2025 winners, and one from the winner of Prova de Acesso.^[6] The composers, which both created the songs and selected its performers, were required to submit the demo and final versions of their entries by 31 October and 30 November 2025, respectively. Songs could be submitted in any language.^[4] The selected composers were revealed on 12 November 2025, while the competing artists were revealed on 22 January 2026.^[7][8]

The semi-finals took place on 21 and 28 February 2026.^[9] In each show, eight entries competed, with five advancing to the final. The voting consisted of two rounds: a 50/50 combination of votes from an expert jury and a public televote determined the first four qualifiers, and a second round of televoting selected the fifth and final qualifier.^[4] The jury consisted of Diana Vilarinho, Joana Espadinha, Lena d'Água, Mário Rui Vieira and Tó Cruz (represented Portugal in 1995)^[10]

Key:   Jury and televote round qualifier   Televote-only round qualifier

The final took place on 7 March 2026 and featured the ten qualified entries.^[14] The winner was determined by a 50/50 combination of the vote by a three-member regional jury representing the seven Portuguese territorial regions and a public vote; in the event of a tie, the public voting was to take precedence.^[4]

Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest has been controversial since 2024 due to the Gaza war.^[17] In 2026, broadcasters from five countries, namely Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Spain, opted not to take part in the contest after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) allowed Israel to compete, following a vote held in December 2025 in favour of adopting a series of amendments to the voting system, bypassing a proposed separate vote on Israel's participation.^{[18][19][20][21][22]} Before the vote, in September 2025, RTP announced that the winner of Festival da Canção 2026, unlike previous editions, would not be obligated to represent Portugal in Eurovision.^[23] After the EBU's decision to permit Israel's presence, 11 out of 16 participants of Festival da Canção 2026 signed an open letter on 10 December 2025, confirming that they would not represent Portugal if they win, due to Israel's participation.^[24] Later, two participants also announced that they will not be competing in Eurovision should they win the Portuguese selection.^[25][26] Of the remaining contestants, two confirmed they would still represent Portugal if selected, including eventual winner Bandidos do Cante, while one did not issue a definitive statement.^[27]

The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will take place at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria, and consist of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 12 and 14 May and the final on 16 May 2026. All nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final will progress to the final. On 12 January 2026, an allocation draw was held to determine which of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show, each country will perform in; the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.^[28] Portugal was scheduled for the first half of the first semi-final.^[29]