Despite the recent announcement that RTP would participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, 13 acts set to perform in the national selection have announced they will boycott Eurovision 2026 if they win Festival da Canção 2026.
🇵🇹 Festival da Canção 2026 artists release joint statement
Last week, RTP the national broadcaster of Portugal, had confirmed it will participate in the upcoming contest in Vienna, Austria next May. This news was confirmed during the evening RTP news live on air after the 95th EBU General Assembly concluded. Thus, the national selection Festival da Canção 2026 was set to go ahead with 16 acts taking part. It had been previously announced that winning the national selection would not be tied to Eurovision representation.
Recently, 17 musicians from 12 of the 16 competing acts released a jointly signed statement expressing their disappointment in the outcomes of the General Assembly. As well as this, the 17 performers have declared they will not represent Portugal at the Vienna contest next May should any of them win the national selection Festival da Canção 2026.
“Despite Russia’s ban from the 2022 edition of Eurovision, for political reasons (the invasion of Ukraine), it was with amazement that we found that the same fate was not given to Israel, which is, according to the UN, committing acts of genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.”
In the aftermath of the announcement of this joint artist statement, RTP released a statement of their own:
“Regardless of the decision of the artists who subscribe to the statement, RTP will once again organise Festival da Canção and reaffirms its participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.”
RTP
🇵🇹 AGRIDOCE releases statement on Eurovision 2026
Since the initial announcement of an artist boycott, AGRIDOCE has added their name to the list of acts refusing to go to the Vienna contest.
“Unfortunately, the reality remains unchanged: Israel continues to act without consequences proportional to the gravity of the humanitarian situation we are all witnessing and with which we feel that the world continues to be complicit.”
This now takes the total to 13 of the 16 competing acts in Festival da Canção 2026.
- Evaya
- Cristina Branco
- Djodje
- Francisco Fontes
- Gonçalo Gomes
- Inês Sousa
- Bateu Matou
- Jacaréu
- Marquise
- Nunca Mates o Madarim
- Rita Dias
- Dinis Mota
- AGRIDOCE
So far, only Bandidos do Cante has publicly stated they would participate and represent Portugal at Eurovision 2026.
During the General Assembly all EBU members were invited to vote on the recently announced rule changes proposed by the EBU. These included the return of juries to the Semi-Finals, a reduction in the number of votes from 20 to 10 and strong safeguards to the voting procedures and abilities of governments to campaign for entries. The new rules passed the vote with 738 votes in favour of the new measures, 264 against and 120 abstentions.
This news comes following the shock withdrawals of Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain and Slovenia.
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I used to love Eurovision. Now I see it as a propaganda machine for Israel. I support all who have taken the step to boycott. This should not have been necessary. Israel should have been excluded as a result of the genocide in Palestine, 2 years ago.