Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest
| Portugal | |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Member station | RTP |
| National selection events | Festival da Canção |
| Appearances | |
| Appearances | 47 (40 finals) |
| First appearance | 1964 |
| Best result | 6th: 1996 |
| Worst result |
Last: 1964, 1974, 1997 Nul points: 1964, 1997 |
| External links | |
| RTP page | |
| Portugal's page at Eurovision.tv | |
Portugal has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 47 times since its debut in the 1964 contest. Since then, they have missed only four contests.
Portugal's debut entry was António Calvário with "Oração", however it was not a successful debut for the country, with Calvário coming last in the contest. Since then Portugal has come last on two further occasions, in 1974, when Paulo de Carvalho sang "E depois do adeus", and in 1997 when Célia Lawson performed "Antes do adeus". Despite its last-place finish in the contest, "E depois do adeus" has since gained notability for being one of the two signals to begin the Carnation Revolution against the Estado Novo regime in the country.
Portugal has never won the contest, and holds the record for most appearances in the contest without a win. Their best finish was at the 1996 contest, when Lúcia Moniz came sixth with the song "O meu coração não tem cor". As such, Portugal has never finished in the top five of any contest.
Since semi-finals were introduced into the contest in 2004, Portugal has failed to reach the final seven times, including from 2004 to 2007. The country did reach the final from 2008 to 2010. In 2008, Vânia Fernandes finished 13th with the song "Senhora do mar (Negras águas)", Portugal's best finish since 1998. In 2009, Flor-de-Lis finished 15th with "Todas as ruas do amor" and in 2010, Filipa Azevedo finished 18th. As of 2014, 2010 remains the last time Portugal participated in the Eurovision final, having failed to qualify from the semi-finals three more times in 2011, 2012 and 2014. In 2013, Portugal did not compete.
The contest is broadcast in Portugal by Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP).
Absences
Portugal has been absent from four contests since their first participation. The country's first absence was in 1970 where Portugal, along with four other countries, boycotted the contest due to the result of the previous year, when four countries were announced the winner.[1]
Portugal missed the 2000 contest due to their poor average results over the past five years. Despite being eligible to enter the 2002 contest, RTP declined to enter, and was replaced by eventual winner Latvia.[2]
The fourth, and so far last absence was in 2013, when Portugal didn't participate for financial reasons.[3]
Festival da Canção
Festival da Canção (sometimes referred to as "Festival RTP da Canção") is the Portuguese national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, organized by RTP, and is normally held in February/March of the year of the contest. It is one of the longest-running Eurovision selection methods. Previously a number of regional juries selected the winner, however recently the winner has been selected through televoting. In 2009 and 2010, a 50-50 system between district juries and televote (like in the ESC) has been used.
Despite Portugal being absent from the contest on three occasions, the Festival da Canção has mostly gone on regardlessly. In 1970, when Portugal boycotted the contest, Festival da Canção 1970 went on ahead, the same occurring in 2000. The only times that Festival da Canção was not held were between 2002 and 2005, and in 2013.
Contestants
- Table key
NOTE: If a country had won the previous year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. In addition from 2004-2007, the top ten countries who were not members of the big four did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. If, for example, Germany and France placed inside the top ten, the countries who placed 11th and 12th were advanced to the following year's grand final along with the rest of the top ten countries.
Voting history
As of 2014, Portugal's voting history is as follows:
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Marcel Bezençon Awards
Press Award
| Year | Song | Performer | Final Result | Points | Host city |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Senhora do mar (Negras águas)" | Vânia Fernandes | 13th | 69 | Belgrade |
Commentators and spokespersons
| Year(s) | Commentator | Spokesperson |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Gomes Ferreira | Maria Manuela Furtado |
| 1965 | ||
| 1966 | Henrique Mendes | |
| 1967 | ||
| 1968 | Fialho Gouveia | |
| 1969 | Henrique Mendes | |
| 1970 | Portugal did not participate | |
| 1971 | No Spokesperson | |
| 1972 | ||
| 1973 | Artur Agostinho | |
| 1974 | Henrique Mendes | |
| 1975 | Júlio Isidro | Ana Zanatti |
| 1976 | Ana Zanatti | |
| 1977 | ||
| 1978 | Eládio Clímaco | |
| 1979 | Fialho Gouveia | João Abel da Fonseca |
| 1980 | Isabel Wolmar | Teresa Cruz |
| 1981 | Margarida Andrade | Margarida Andrade |
| 1982 | Fialho Gouveia | |
| 1983 | Eládio Clímaco | João Abel Fonseca |
| 1984 | Fialho Gouveia | Eládio Clímaco |
| 1985 | Eládio Clímaco | Maria Margarida Gaspar |
| 1986 | Fialho Gouveia | Margarida Andrade |
| 1987 | Maria Margarida Gaspar | Ana Zanatti |
| 1988 | Margarida Andrade | Maria Margarida Gaspar |
| 1989 | Ana Zanatti | Margarida Andrade |
| 1990 | Ana do Carmo | João Abel Fonseca |
| 1991 | Maria Margarida Gaspar | |
| 1992 | Eládio Clímaco | Ana Zanatti |
| 1993 | Isabel Bahia | Margarida Mercês de Mello |
| 1994 | Eládio Clímaco | Isabel Bahia |
| 1995 | Ana do Carmo | Serenella Andrade |
| 1996 | Maria Margarida Gaspar | Cristina Rocha |
| 1997 | Carlos Ribeiro | |
| 1998 | Rui Unas | Lúcia Moniz |
| 1999 | Manuel Luís Goucha | |
| 2000 | Eládio Clímaco | Portugal did not participate |
| 2001 | Margarida Mercês de Mello | |
| 2002 | Portugal did not participate | |
| 2003 | Margarida Mercês de Mello | Helena Ramos |
| 2004 | Eládio Clímaco | Isabel Angelino |
| 2005 | ||
| 2006 | Cristina Alves | |
| 2007 | Jorge Gabriel | Francisco Mendes |
| 2008 | Isabel Angelino | Teresa Villa-Lobos |
| 2009 | Hélder Reis | Helena Coelho |
| 2010 | Sérgio Mateus | Ana Galvão |
| 2011 | Sílvia Alberto | Joana Teles |
| 2012 | Pedro Granger | |
| 2013 | Sílvia Alberto | Portugal did not participate |
| 2014 | Joana Teles | |
| 2015 | Hélder Reis | TBA |
Comedy
In the late 1990s the English actor and comedian Steve Coogan created the character "Tony Ferrino" for his television comedy series. "Tony Ferrino" is supposedly a Portuguese singer and winner of the Eurovision Song Contest; he is a stereotype based on singers and entertainers often seen on European television programmes in the 1970s and 1980s. The BBC produced a one-off programme The Tony Ferrino Phenomenon in 1997.
Photogallery
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Simone de Oliveira at Naples (1965)
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Sofia Vitória at Istanbul (2004)
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Sabrina at Helsinki (2007)
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Vânia Fernandes at Belgrade (2008)
References
- ↑ O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History. Carlton Books, UK. 2007 ISBN 978-1-84442-994-3
- ↑ Bakker, Sietse (2002-11-29). "EBU confirmed: Portugal resigns, Latvia is in". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
- ↑ Jiandani, Sanjay (22 November 2012). "Portugal will not participate in Eurovision 2013". ESCToday. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
External links
- Points to and from Portugal eurovisioncovers.co.uk
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