Ten artists will participate in each semi-final of Festival da Canção 2021, Portugal’s selection for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Portuguese broadcaster RTP has revealed who will take part in which semi-final of Festival da Canção 2021. The first semi-final will take place on February 20th in RTP Studios in Lisbon, with the second taking place a week later on February 27th. The songwriters and semi-final split is as follows:
Participating in Semi-Final One is:
- Anne Victorino d’Almeida
- Fábia Maia
- Filipe Melo
- Helder Moutinho
- IAN
- Sister
- Karetus
- Miguel Marôco
- Stereosaurus
- Tatanka
Participating in Semi-Final Two is:
- Carolina Deslandes
- Da Chick
- Joana Alegre
- João Vieira
- Neev
- Pedro da Linha
- Pedro Gonçalves
- Tainá
- Virgul
- Viviane
Five songs from each semi-final will qualify to the grand final, which will be held on March 6th. The qualifying songs will be decided by votes from both the jury and the public.
Of the 20 composers, 18 were directly invited by RTP. Miguel Marôco and Pedro Gonçalves were selected through a public selection. A total of 693 submissions were made through the public selection, which is the highest number of songs ever submitted to this selection.
Elisa won Festival da Canção 2020 and was due to represent Portugal at Eurovision 2020 with “Medo de sentir” before the contest was cancelled. She may participate again in this year’s contest if one of the chosen composers has chosen her to sing their song.
Source: escportugal.pt / Image source: ESC Bubble
Portugal debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1964 represented by Antonio Calvario, the country finished last scoring nul points. Prior to 2016, the best result of Portugal was 6th place which came in 1996 when Lucia Moniz performed in Oslo. She scored 92 points, receiving the 12 points from both Norway and Cyprus. Since their debut, Portugal have missed a total of five contests. In 2017, Portugal produced a spectacular win when Salvador Sobral took home the crystal microphone with his song “Amar Pelos Dois.” The 2018 contest was held in Lisbon, Portugal for the first time.
