Boa tarde Europe, we have the fourteen finalists for Festival da Cançao 2018!  Tonight saw Lisbon host Festival Da Cançao’s first second-final, where the second set of finalists were determined.

Thirteen  more acts battled for the golden ticket to the Grand Finale of Festival da Cançao 2018 during tonight’s show, but only seven made it to Guimarães.

Tonight’s semi-final was held tonight at RTP’s Studio 1 in Lisbon and was hosted by Sónia Araújo and Tânia Ribas de Oliveira.  The 7 lucky finalists were determined via a special jury/public televoting deliberation.

The 7 finalists

• Diogo Piçarra (Diogo Piçarra) – Canção do Fim  (24 points)
  
• Cláudia Pascoal (Isaura) – O Jardim (20 points)
• Maria Inês Paris (Tito Paris) – Bandeira Azul (12 points)
  
• Minnie & Rhayra (Paulo Flores) – Patati Patata (10 points)
  
• Lili (Armando Teixeira) – O Voo das Cegonhas (10 points)
  
• David Pessoa (Francisco Rebelo) – Amor Veloz (9 points)
  
• Peter Serrado (Peter Serrado) – Sunset (9 points)
  

Diogo Piçarra won tonight’s semi-final with 24 points receiving the highest votes from both the jury and public televoting.

Finalists (Semi-final 1)

• Peu Madureira (Diogo Clemente) – Só Por Ela
  
• Catarina Miranda (Júlio Resende) – Para Sorrir Eu Não Preciso de Nada
  
• Janeiro (Janeiro) – sem título 
  
• Anabela (Fernando Tordo) – Para te Dar Abrigo
  
• Joana Barra Vaz (Francisca Cortesão) – Anda Estragar-me os Planos
  
• Joana Espadinha (Benjamin) – Zero a Zero
  
• Rui David (Jorge Palma) – Sem medo
  

All 14 finalists will be heading north next Sunday for the Grand Finale of Festival da Cançao, one of them will be crowned the winner of the national selection and will defend the Portuguese colours at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest on home soil.

The Jury

The special jury  played a key role in selecting the first set of Festival da Cançao 2018 finalists. The combined vote of the jury and public televoting determined the 7 lucky hopefuls who will battle for the golden ticket to Lisbon. 7 acts from each semi-final have proceeded to the Grand Finale.

• Júlio Isidro (chairperson of jury)
  
• Ana Bacalhau (singer)
  
• Carlão (singer)
  
• Luísa Sobral (singer/Portugal 2017)
  
• Sara Tavares (singer/Portugal 1994)
  
• Ana Markl (radio host)
  
• Mário Lopes (journalist)
  
• Tozé Brito (composer)
  
• António Avelar Pinho  (composer)

Festival da Cançao 2018

The 2018 edition of Festival da Cançao (FdC) will consist of 3 shows which will be aired on 18, 25 February (semi-finals) and 4 March (Grand Final).

The first 2 shows of FdC 2018 were held at the RTP’s Studio 1 in Lisbon, whilst the grand final will be travelling outside the Portuguese capital, namely to Guimarães.

We will be heading to the north of Portugal in order to select the 2018 Eurovision hopeful who will follow Salvador Sobral’s footsteps.

A total of 26 acts  participated in the 2018 Portuguese national selection Festival da Cançao 2018. Six hosts will be hosting the national selection (2 hosts per show).

The Grand Final of Festival da Cançao will take place on 4 March at the Pavilhão Multiusos de Guimarães in Guimarães. A total of 14 acts will fight for the right to fly the Portuguese colours at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon. The gala will be hosted by Filomena Cautela (Eurovision 2018 host) and Pedro Fernandes.