Portugal: 17 artists from Festival da Canção 2026 say they’ll refuse Eurovision if they win

Portugal’s broadcaster RTP has already confirmed its participation in Eurovision 2026. But now a majority of acts competing in Festival da Canção, the country’s national selection, say they will refuse the ticket to Vienna. 

For the 2026 edition, producers behind RTP’s national selection removed the obligation for the winning artist to compete at Eurovision. Instead, they tweaked the regulations to say the winner is “eligible” to participate.

In an open letter, seventeen artists, who are spread across eleven different acts, say they were “astonished” that Israel’s broadcaster will be allowed to compete in Vienna. You can read their full statement below. There are a total of sixteen acts competing in the festival.

Portugal: 17 artists from will refuse Eurovision if they win (OPEN LETTER)

“The Festival da Canção has been, since 1964, a place for sharing Portuguese music every year. It has undergone various formats, has featured both established names and emerging artists of the national music scene, keeps critics and fans engaged, but has never lost its public service mission toward song and toward the people who listen to it, and therefore toward the country itself. This is the principle that moves us. And, therefore, we believe that participating in the 2026 Festival da Canção is not only the opportunity that so many Portuguese artists wish for, but also the continuation of a cultural legacy that we intend to honor.

It has been the norm that the winner of the Festival da Canção represents RTP, and consequently Portugal, at the Eurovision Song Contest. We did so, with Salvador Sobral and Luísa Sobral, winners of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest. And it was the country that won, far beyond RTP—the victory belonged to the people. Thus, the sense of belonging to a nation when participating in an international competition like Eurovision is undeniable.

Despite Russia being banned from participating in the 2022 edition of Eurovision for political reasons (the invasion of Ukraine), we were astonished to see that the same decision was not applied to Israel, which, according to the UN, is committing acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. We were equally perplexed to observe the results of the vote at the General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU): 738 votes out of 1122 in favor of the new voting rules—that is, a majority satisfied with the changes and no democratic inquiry into Israel’s participation in Eurovision. In that majority was also RTP, a fact that we, as citizens, in addition to our role as artists, regret.

Therefore, we publicly declare, together, in a coordinated position among current songwriters and future performers, our refusal to participate in the 2026 Festival da Canção should we be selected as representatives of the winning song at next March’s competition. We understand that the country and the world are living through moments in which silence makes us complicit in a tragedy. Through words and through songs, we act within the possibilities that we have. We do not collude with the violation of Human Rights. And we stand firm with culture—with Portuguese culture.

Long live music. That is why we are here.”