Portugal: Bandidos do Cante wins Festival da Canção 2026 with "Rosa"
After three weeks of shows, Portugal has selected their Festival da Canção 2026 winner. Once the votes came in, it was announced that the vocal group Bandidos do Cante wins with "Rosa"
Festival da Canção 2026 has drawn to a close, and we now know who Napa's successor is.
Ten acts performed their songs one final time in hopes of receiving enough votes for the crown. Once all the votes were counted, it would become official: The vocal group Bandidos do Cante wins with "Rosa".
"Rosa" was written by Bluay, Duarte Farias, Francisco Pestana, Francisco Raposo, Gonçalo Narciso, Gui Alface, Kasha, Luís Aleixo, and Miguel Costa.
Festival da Canção 2026 – Final
Napa was seen on stage tonight performing their song "Deslocado", which represented Portugal at Eurovision 2025, and became a global hit after the contest.
Tonight's show, like the Semi-finals, was held at Valentim de Carvalho studios in Lisbon. As for the hosts, tonight it was Vasco Palmeirim and Filomena Cautela on stage, and Alexandre Guimarães and Catarina Maia from the Green Room.
Voting to determine the winner was split 50/50 between seven regional juries and public voting.
Portugal is slotted to perform during Semi-final 1 on Tuesday 12 May in Vienna for Eurovision 2026. A total of 16 acts competed in Festival da Canção 2026. Only two of the 16 stated before the contest that they wanted to participate in Eurovision if they won. Bandidos do Cante were one of them.
Bandidos do Cante
Starting their musical journey as a quintet in 2022, Bandidos do Cante comes with roots from Beja. The contemporary pop group consists of five childhood friends:
- Miguel Costa
- Duarte Farias
- Francisco Raposo
- Luís Aleixo
- Francisco Pestana
Having grown up listening to and singing Alentejo folk songs, that inspiration can be found in their music. When the group first officially started making music, they were known as 'Amigos do Alentejo', where they would start to gain some traction from working alongside D.A.M.A. and Buba Espinho.
In 2023, the group would officially start going by Bandidos do Cante, with releasing original music starting the following year. Their debut single 'Amigos Coloridos' would become a huge success, and was the most played Portuguese song on national radio at the time of its release.
The group released their debut album in January 2026, titled 'Bairro das Flores', which showcases the contemporary aspect of their style, as well as incorporating traditional roots.
Festival da Canção 2026
Festival da Canção 2026 took place over three shows: two Semi-finals and the Final.
- Semi Final 1: 21 February 2025
- Semi Final 2: 28 February 2025
Both Semi-finals saw eight acts, with five advancing to the Final from each. Four acts were selected by a 50/50 split between jury and public votes, with the last one selected via 100% public vote from the remaining songs.
- Final: 7 March 2026
The Final saw ten acts looking to receive the Festival da Canção victory. The winner was decided by a 50/50 split between regional juries and public vote.
The winner is presented the option to take the Eurovision 2026 stage. If they have not chosen to opt out of participating, they will head to Vienna in May. If the winner chooses not to head to Eurovision 2026, the broadcaster will select an act to travel to Vienna instead.
Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest
Portugal has participated in the contest 56 times since 1964. It was a very bad start, as they managed to get zero points in their debut year.
Before Eurovision 2017, they had never won the contest, and had never made the top 5. In fact, Portugal held the record for most appearances in the contest without a win!
But that changed in 2017, when Salvador Sobral won with "Amar Pelos Dois."
Since the introduction of the Semi-finals in 2004, Portugal has only qualified for the Grand Final 10 out of 19 times.
