Nineteen songs will compete in the 60th Festival da Canção, with half of them created by artists and bands that “accepted direct invitations from RTP,” as stated in a public broadcaster’s announcement issued today.
The invited authors include André Amaro, Bandidos do Cante, Bateu Matou, Cristina Branco, Djodje, EVAYA, Inês Sousa, and Marquise.
Additionally, six songs were selected “through an open submission process, evaluated by a jury created for this purpose,” authored by AGRIDOCE, Francisco Fontes, Gonçalo Gomes, Jacaréu, Rita Dias, and Sandrino.
Furthermore, one of the competing songs this year is by an author chosen by the public through the “Prova de Acesso,” which involved an online vote featuring five music school students. This author is Dinis Mota.
Lastly, an additional song is by an author invited by the previous edition’s winners of the Festival da Canção, the band NAPA. NAPA’s choice was the band Nunca Mates o Mandarim.
The “Prova de Acesso” and the selection by the previous year’s winner are new elements in the Festival da Canção.
The 60th edition of the Festival da Canção is scheduled for February and March 2026, consisting of two semifinals (on February 21 and 28) and a final (on March 7).
The semifinals and final will be broadcast live on RTP 1, RTP Internacional, and RTP Play.
The winning song of the Festival da Canção is expected to represent Portugal at the 70th Eurovision Song Contest, set to be held in Austria in May.
In recent months, several European countries, including Slovenia, Spain, Ireland, Iceland, and the Netherlands, have announced potential boycotts of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if Israel participates.
This boycott is a response to Israel’s military actions in the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip over the past two years, which have resulted in at least 67,000 deaths and have been classified as genocide by an independent international investigation commission of the United Nations.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the contest, will make a decision at its ordinary winter general assembly, scheduled for December.
Austria won the 69th Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland, with the song “Starmania,” performed by JJ.
The Portuguese representatives, NAPA, achieved 21st place with the song “Deslocado”.
Portugal first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1964, having missed five editions (in 1970, 2000, 2002, 2013, and 2016).
In 2017, Portugal claimed its first and only victory with the song “Amar pelos dois,” composed by Luísa Sobral and performed by Salvador Sobral.
