An average of 747,000 Portuguese viewers tuned in yesterday to follow the first semi-final of Eurovision 2026.
A few hours after the first semi-final, countries are releasing their viewing figures for last night. After Italy, another country saw a small drop in viewership, with the Portuguese broadcaster RTP reporting that an average of 747,000 viewers watched the show.
In detail, this represents a part of 7.5% of the Portuguese viewers and a market share of 15.7%, making RTP the second most watched channel yesterday behind private broadcaster SIC.
In comparison to previous years, there was a slight drop of 5,000 viewers compared to Eurovision 2025, making this semi-final the least watched since 2024 (660,000 viewers), in comparison to 920,000 viewers for Eurovision 2019.
Bandidos do Cante represented Portugal at Eurovision 2026 with the song “Rosa” and failed to qualify for the Grand Final. This is Portugal’s first non-qualification since 2019.
Source: ESC Portugal
Portugal debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1964, represented by António Calvário. The country finished last, scoring nul points. Before 2017, Portugal’s best result was 6th place, which came in 1996 when Lúcia Moniz performed “O meu coração não tem cor” in Oslo. In 2017, Salvador Sobral took home the crystal microphone with his song “Amar pelos dois”, ending a 53-year wait for a Portuguese win. The 2018 contest was held in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon for the first time.
