Country – Portugal
Broadcaster – RTP
Created – 1964
History Summary:
Festival da Canção (Festival of Song) has been held almost every year since it began in 1964 apart from two occasions in 2002 (due to relegation) and 2005 (when RTP decided to internally select a song for Eurovision instead). Even on occasions when Portugal did not participate Eurovision, the competition still took place.
Despite the competition having minimal impact on the music industry in Portugal, Festival da Canção is still one of the most watched TV programmes in the country.
Current Format:
Twelve songs compete altogether in the televised competition in March. The voting procedure is split between 50% jury and 50% SMS voting which are each given out in the 1-12 scoring system used in Eurovision. The song with the most combined votes is declared the winner.
ESC Pulse 