Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020
Portugal originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam, Netherlands with the song "Medo de sentir", performed by Elisa. The Portuguese entry for the 2020 contest was chosen through the national selection Festival da Canção, organised by the Portuguese broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal, which consisted of two semi-finals on 22 and 29 February, and a final on 7 March 2020. However, the contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Background
Prior to the 2020 Contest, Portugal had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-one times since its first entry in 1964. Since semi-finals were introduced into the contest in 2004, Portugal has failed to reach the final eight times. Portugal held the record for the most appearances in the contest without a win until 2017 when they won in Kiev, Ukraine, with Salvador Sobral's entry, "Amar pelos dois". In 2019, Portugal was represented by Conan Osíris and the song "Telemóveis". The country failed to qualify to the final, ending in fifteenth place in the semi-final with 51 points.The Portuguese broadcaster for the 2020 Contest, who broadcasts the event in Portugal and organises the selection process for its entry, will be Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. Portugal has most commonly selected their entry through the national final Festival da Canção except between 2003 and 2005 where the broadcaster used internal selections and the talent competition Operação triunfo to select their entry. The broadcaster will organize the 2020 edition of Festival da Canção in order to select the Portuguese entry for the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest.
Before Eurovision
''Festival da Canção 2020''
Festival da Canção 2020 will be the 54th edition of Festival da Canção, the music competition that selects Portugal's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest. Three live shows will be broadcast during a two-week period: two semi-finals on 22 and 29 February and the final on 7 March 2020. The semi-finals will take place at RTP's studios in Lisbon, while the final will take place at the Coliseu Comendador Rondão Almeida in Elvas.The competition features sixteen songs written by professional and amateur composers, who are also responsible for choosing the performer for their entry. Each semi-final will feature eight songs from which four will advance to the final. Results during the semi-finals will be determined by the sum of the votes from a room jury panel and public. In the final, the winner will be determined by the sum of the votes from regional jury panels and public. For the third consecutive year, the competition has no language restrictions.
On 7 November 2019, RTP revealed the names of the sixteen participating composers: fourteen directly invited by RTP, one selected by Antena 1's radio show MasterClass, and one selected from an open call of 320 submissions received by RTP.
| Artist | Song | Songwriter | Selection |
| Bárbara Tinoco | "Passe-Partout" | Tiago Nacarato | Invited by RTP |
| Blasted Mechanism | "Rebellion" | Blasted Mechanism, Stego, Guerra | Invited by RTP |
| Cláudio Frank | "Quero-te abraçar" | Cláudio Frank | "MasterClass" winner |
| Dubio feat. +351 | "Cegueira" | Rui Azevedo, Pedro Azevedo, Hugo Azevedo | Open call winner |
| Elisa | "Medo de sentir" | Marta Carvalho | Invited by RTP |
| Elisa Rodrigues | "Não voltes mais" | Elisa Rodrigues | Invited by RTP |
| Filipe Sambado | "Gerbera amarela do Sul" | Filipe Sambado | Invited by RTP |
| Ian Mucznik | "O dia de amanhã" | João Cabrita, Ian Mucznik | Invited by RTP |
| Jimmy P | "Abensonhado" | Jimmy P | Invited by RTP |
| JJaZZ | "Agora" | Rui Pregal da Cunha | Invited by RTP |
| Judas | "Cubismo enviesado" | Hélio Morais | Invited by RTP |
| Kady | "Diz só" | Dino D'Santiago, Kalaf Epalanga | Invited by RTP |
| Luiz Caracol & Gus Liberdade | "Dói-me o país" | Luiz Caracol, António Avelar Pinho | Invited by RTP |
| MEERA | "Copo de gin" | MEERA, Isaura, João Bota | Invited by RTP |
| Throes + The Shine | "Movimento" | Throes + The Shine | Invited by RTP |
| Tomás Luzia | "Mais real que o amor" | Pedro Jóia, Tiago Torres da Silva | Invited by RTP |
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final took place at RTP's studios in Lisbon, on 22 February 2020. It was hosted by Jorge Gabriel and Tânia Ribas de Oliveira.Semi-final 2
The second semi-final took place at RTP's studios in Lisbon, on 29 February 2020. It was hosted by José Carlos Malato and Sónia Araújo.Final
The final will take place at the Coliseu Comendador Rondão Almeida in Elvas, on 7 March 2020. It will be hosted by Eurovision Song Contest 2018 co-host Filomena Cautela, alongside Vasco Palmeirim.At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 28 January 2020, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Portugal was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 14 May 2020, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show. However, due to 2019-20 pandemic of Coronavirus, the contest was cancelled.In the Eurovision Song Celebration youtube broadcast in place of the heats, it was revealed that the song would have performed 15th in Semi Final 2, having been preceded by Armenia and preceding Georgia.