The song that will represent Portugal at the 68th Eurovision Song Contest, in May in Sweden, was chosen today from among the 12 competing in the final of the Song Contest, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.
The ceremony, which will be hosted, as in previous years, by Filomena Cautela and Vasco Palmeirim, will be broadcast live on RTP1 from the public broadcaster’s studios in Lisbon.
The 12 songs in competition are, in order of presentation: “Change”, by Silk Nobre, “Criatura”, by Rita Onofre, “Memory”, by Noble, “O Farol”, by Buba Espinho, “Teorias da conspiração”, by Nena, “Grito”, by Iolanda, “Aceitar”, by No Maka (Emanuel Oliveira and Duarte Carvalho), with Ana Maria, “Primavera” by Cristina Clara, “Pontos finais” by Rita Rocha, “Doce Mistério” by Leo Middea, “Bem longe daqui” by Perpétua and “Pelas Costuras” by João Borsch.
The songs competing in today’s final were chosen in two semi-finals, which took place on February 24 and March 2, also at the RTP studios in Lisbon.
The winner is chosen using the usual voting system: half the score is awarded by a jury, made up of representatives from seven regions of mainland Portugal and the islands, and the other half by public vote.
In the event of a tie, the public’s choice prevails.
Voting has been open since Monday and the phone numbers corresponding to each song are available on the Festival da Canção social media accounts.
The winner of the Festival da Canção will represent Portugal at the 68th Eurovision Song Contest, which will take place in Malmo, Sweden, in May, 50 years after the country’s first victory with ABBA’s “Waterloo”.
In May last year, Sweden won the 67th Eurovision Song Contest, which was held in Liverpool, UK, with the song “Tattoo”, performed by Loreen, who had already won first place at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012 with “Euphoria”.
This was the seventh time Sweden has won the Eurovision Song Contest, after triumphs in 1974, 1984, 1991, 1999, 2012 and 2015.
Portugal came 23rd last year with Mimicat and the song “Ai coração”. It won the competition in 2017 with “Amar pelo dois”, a song written by Luísa Sobral and performed by Salvador Sobral.