RTP, the Portuguese national broadcaster have announced the dates and venue for their national final, Festival da Canção. The final will take place on the 4th March at the Multiusos de Guimarães.
The semi final dates are both on Sundays. These will take place on the 18th of February and the 25th of February with the final on 4th of March. Portugal won the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest, so the winner of Festival da Canção will represent them on home soil.
Venue
Multiusos de Guimarães is a multi purpose arena in Guimarães. It is primarly used for Basketball but can also be used for other things. In recent years, Festival da Canção always took place in Portugal’s capital city Lisbon. However, with the Eurovision final weeks taking place in Lisbon this year, RTP moved their national selection to another city.
With this move, RTP have certainly upped their game in terms of venue size for the national final. Last years venue, Coliseu dos Recreios in Lisbon only seated between 2486 and 4000 at a push. This years venue seats above 5000 people.
Guimarães is located in the district of Braga. The area is served by Porto international airport, and lies on the Porto to Guimarães line on the train. Guimarães is one of the most cultural places in the district.
Four more years
RTP will organize the next 4 editions of Festival da Canção all in different cities. This statement suggests that they will stay in the Eurovision Song Contest for at least another 4 years.