RTP has this evening confirmed their participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the search underway for entries for Festival da Canção 2019.

16 songs will once again be competing to represent Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest. RTP has invited 14 composers to present an original and unpublished song, the composers will also be able to select the singer to perform the song.

The broadcaster will also allow two slots in the competition to be taken by public submissions. There are two ways for performers to get one of the final two slots in the competition;

One of them will be selected through the “Master Class” radio program of Antena 1. The competition is open to composers and authors with no published works, until October 31. The composer selected must present a new song for Festival da Canção.

The last place in the show will be taken by a song that is submitted through an open select. All citizens of Portuguese nationality or residents in Portugal, whether or not they have published works can apply. The submission of these applications is done through the RTP website, with submissions to be sent to the: festival2019@rtp.pt, the deadline is October 31.

Cláudia and Isaura represented Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with “O Jardim”. They finished last in the Grand Final with a total of 39 points. They scored 21 points in the televote including 7 from Lithuania, with the remaining 18 points coming from the juries with 10 points from Switzerland.

Source: RTP

Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest Portugal debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1964 represented by António Calvário, the country finished last scoring nul points. Prior to 2016, the best result of Portugal in the contest was 6th place. This 6th place came in 1996 when Lúcia Moniz performed “O meu coração não tem cor” on stage in Oslo, Norway. She scored 92 points receiving 12 points from both Norway and Cyprus. Since their debut in 1964 Portugal has missed a total of five contests, the latest being in 2016. After their spectacular win in Kyiv, Portugal hosted the 2018 edition of the contest in the capital, Lisbon.