The Grand Final of Festival da Canção 2024 took place on Saturday, March 9th, marking the last national selection of the 2024 Eurovision season. Portugal chose Iolanda with her powerful song “Grito” as the winner. She’ll now represent the country at Eurovision 2024 in Malmö, Sweden.
Celebrating 60 years, Festival da Canção’s final saw 12 of 20 initial acts compete after two previous semi-finals. The final was broadcast live on RTP1, the Portuguese public broadcaster, and hosted by Filomena Cautela and Vasco Palmeirim.
Voting was a 50/50 split between the public and jury. Public voting was open all-week long to let Portugal choose their favorite, while a seven-person jury, representing each of the country’s regions, weighed in with their scores in the evening.
Iolanda’s “Grito”, which means “Scream” in Portuguese, dominated the jury vote and earned 10 points from the public, securing her victory ticket for Portugal at Eurovision 2024. The song is a powerful anthem of empowerment and resilience, inspired by Iolanda’s personal experiences and struggles.
Iolanda is a rising singer-songwriter who released her debut EP “Cura” in March 2023. The EP features six songs that showcase her unique voice and style, blending pop, soul, and R&B influences. Starting her artistic journey at 14, she moved to Lisbon at 17, then to the UK for songwriting studies.
Portugal will perform in the second half of the first semi-final on Tuesday 7 May, hoping to repeat their success of 2017, when Salvador Sobral won the contest with “Amar pelos dois”. Portugal has participated in Eurovision 54 times since their debut in 1964, and has only reached the top 10 eleven times.