Rotterdam 2021🇵🇹 Portugal

🇵🇹 Festival da Canção acts will be disqualified if they test positive for Covid before semi-finals

The semi-finals jury have also been announced

With Festival da Canção starting tomorrow, RTP have confirmed some of the precautions they have put in place to protect everyone during the Covid-19 pandemic. All participants will be tests prior to rehearsals for the semi-finals and final, and if they test positive, then they will have to isolate.

If the positive test is returned before the semi-final then that participant will be removed from the competition. However, it has been confirmed that if they qualify and test positive before the final, their semi-final performance will be used instead during the selection on 6th March.

This is unlike Estonia who announced that the music videos for Eesti Laul can be used instead of performing live, if an artist is isolating.

Limited green room space

According to ESCPORTUGAL, it was decided to move Festival da Canção to the RTP Studios so they could make some further changes. Each performer will have their own individual dressing room, which they will only be able to leave just before their performance.

After their performance, the performer along with the composer will go to the green room, however the rest of the team will have to return to the dressing room.

Semi-final jury confirmed

In further news, the professional jury for the two semi-finals has also been confirmed. The jury is made up of six people and they will determine 50% of the result in the semi-finals, with the other 50% decided by televoting.

The members of this year’s semi-final jury are:

  • Maria Carvalho – Winning composer of Festival da Canção 2020
  • NBC – Runner-up at Festival da Canção 2019
  • Paulo de Carvalho – Represented Portugal at Eurovision 1974
  • Rita Carmo – Photographer
  • Rita Guerra – Represented Portugal at Eurovision 2003
  • Vanessa Augusto – TV presenter

The first semi-final will take place tomorrow (20th February) at 22:00 CET and will continue with the second-semi final on 27th February. Portugal’s act for Eurovision 2021 will be decided on 6th March. In the meantime, remind yourself of last year’s Portuguese entry, “Medo de sentir”.

Do you think the disqualification rule is too harsh? Are you looking forward to the show?

Let us know in the comments below and on social media @ESCXTRA.

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