RTP, the Portuguese national broadcaster, has kicked off preparations for the 2026 Portuguese national selection aka Festival da Canção and published the rules and regulations of the competition.
The Portuguese broadcaster is yet to confirm its participation at the forthcoming 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in Austria. The winner of Festival da Cançao will be eligible to represent Portugal at ESC 2026 if Portugal participates in the competition.
RTP has published the rules and regulations for FdC 2026 and revamped the format of the national selection. The Portuguese national broadcaster has opened the song submission window for FdC 2026 with the deadline set on 31st October 2025. Artists/ composers wishing to apply for the competition here.
Festival da Canção 2026
The 2026 Fdc will consist of three shows ( two semi-finals and a grand final) scheduled to be broadcast live in February and March (dates , host cities and venues yet to be determined).
A total of 16 acts will compete in the semi-finals, the top 5 acts from each semi-final will proceed to the Grand Final. A total of 10 acts will battle for the Grand Prix at the Grand Final of FdC 2026.
RTP will use three mechanisms to determine the 16 competing acts:
- 8 acts via an invitation to composers
- 6 acts via a public open song submission window
- 1 act via an invitation extended by NAPA
- 1 act via an Entrance Exam selection
Portugal in Eurovision
Portugal debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1964 and has won the competition once, namely in 2017 with Salvador Sobral‘s Amor pelo dois. The country successfully hosted the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon.
Portugal has competed 56 times in the Eurovision Song Contest.
In 2025 NAPA represented Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel with their epic entry ‘ Deslocado’.
https://youtu.be/waInyqBwSo0?si=hXlpwAjurnChQQsO
