Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997
{{Short description|none}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox song contest national year
| Year = 1997
| Country = Portugal
| Broadcaster = {{lang|pt|Radiotelevisão Portuguesa|i=no}} (RTP)
| Selection process = {{lang|pt|Festival RTP da Canção|i=no}} 1997
| Selection date = 7 March 1997
| Song = Antes do adeus
| Artist = Célia Lawson
| Writer = {{unbulleted list|Thilo Krasmann|Rosa Lobato de Faria}}
| Final result = 24th, 0 points
}}
Portugal was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1997 with the song "{{lang|pt|Antes do adeus|i=no}}" composed by Thilo Krasmann, with lyrics by Rosa Lobato de Faria, and performed by Célia Lawson. The Portuguese participating broadcaster, {{lang|pt|Radiotelevisão Portuguesa|i=no}} (RTP), organised the national final {{lang|pt|Festival RTP da Canção|i=no}} 1997 in order to select its entry for the contest. After five semi-finals and a final which took place between January and March 1997, "{{lang|pt|Antes do adeus|i=no}}" performed by Célia Lawson emerged as the winner after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from 20 regional juries and a public televote.
The song competed in the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 3 May 1997. Performing during the show in position 15, it placed twenty-fourth (last) out of the 24 participating songs from different countries and failed to score any points, making it the second time that the Portuguese entry had placed last in the history of the competition and receiving nul points.
Background
{{main|Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest}}
Prior to the 1997 contest, {{lang|pt|Radiotelevisão Portuguesa|i=no}} (RTP) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Portugal thirty-two times since its first entry in {{escyr|1964}}. Its highest placing in the contest was sixth, achieved in {{esccnty|Portugal|y=1996|t=1996}} with the song "{{lang|pt|O meu coração não tem cor|i=no}}" performed by Lúcia Moniz.{{cite web|title=Portugal Country Profile|url=http://www.eurovision.tv/page/history/by-country/country?country=20|access-date=20 November 2014|publisher=EBU|url-status=dead}} Its least successful result has been last place, which they have achieved on two occasions, most recently in {{escyr|1974}} with the song "E depois do adeus" performed by Paulo de Carvalho. The Portuguese entry has also received nul points once, in 1964 with the song "Oração" performed by António Calvário.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}
RTP has traditionally selected its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest via the music competition {{lang|pt|Festival da Canção|i=no}}, with an exception in {{escyr|1988}} when it selected its entry internally. The broadcaster organized {{lang|pt|Festival RTP da Canção|i=no}} 1997 in order to select the 1997 Portuguese entry.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}
Before Eurovision
= {{lang|pt|Festival RTP da Canção|i=no}} 1997 =
File:Festival RTP da Canção 1997.svg
{{lang|pt|Festival RTP da Canção|i=no}} 1997 was the 34th edition of {{lang|pt|Festival da Canção|i=no}} that selected the Portuguese entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1997. Eighteen entries competed in the competition that consisted of five semi-finals held between 25 January and 22 February 1997 leading to an eight-song final on 7 March 1997.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}} All six shows of the competition were broadcast on RTP1 and RTP Internacional.{{Cite web |title=34º Festival RTP da Canção 97 – Parte I |url=https://arquivos.rtp.pt/conteudos/34o-festival-rtp-da-cancao-97-parte-i/ |access-date=2023-12-22 |language=pt-PT}}
== Format ==
The format of the competition consisted of six shows: five semi-finals held on 25 January 1997, 1 February 1997, 8 February 1997, 15 February 1997 and 22 February 1997, and the final on 7 March 1997. Each semi-final featured three competing entries from which the winning song as determined exclusively by public televoting advanced from each show and joined by an additional three automatic qualifying entries to complete the eight song lineup in the final. Results during the final were determined by the votes from 20 regional juries and public televoting. Each jury assigned points from 1-6, 8 and 10, while the televote awarded an additional set of points from 1-6, 8 and 10.
== Competing entries ==
Eighteen composers were selected by RTP through two methods. Fifteen of the composers were selected by a jury panel consisting of journalists Jaime Fernandes and Nuno Infante do Carmo, singer Simone de Oliveira and RTP representative Fernanda Ferreira from 224 submissions received through an open call for songs, while the three remaining composers were invited by RTP for the competition with their songs automatically qualifying to the final: João Mota Oliveira, José Cid and Thilo Krasmann. José Cid represented Portugal in the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest.
| class="sortable wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Competing entries |
| Artist
! Song ! Songwriter(s) ! Selection |
|---|
| Água Mole
| "Pedra dura" | Paulo Alexandre Pereira Matias, Rui Eduardo Rodrigues Rocha | rowspan="4" |Open call winner |
| Carla Pires
| "Gaivotas de um mar revolto" | José Manuel Coelho |
| Carlos Alberto Vidal
| "Menino de rua" | Carlos Alberto Vidal, José Marinho |
| Carlos Coincas
| "Canto de esperar" | Jan van Dijck, Fernando Paulo Gonçalves |
| Célia Lawson
|"Antes do adeus" |Thilo Krasmann, Rosa Lobato de Faria |Invited by RTP |
| Cristina Almeida
| "Senhora da saia verde" | Carlos Canelhas, Maria Amália Ortiz da Fonseca | rowspan="4" | Open call winner |
| Ema and Isabel Viana
| "Corrente da terra mãe" | José Manuel Afonso, Isabel Viana |
| Filipa Lourenço
| "Quadro sonhador" | Rui Filipe, Filipa Lourenço |
| Oriundi
| "Nosso canto chão" | Jan van Dijck, Nuno Gomes dos Santos |
| Os Meninos da Sacristia
|"Canção urgente" |Invited by RTP |
| Paula Cardoso and Carlos Ançã
| "Sonhos de verão" | Justin Albert Tahina, Eduardo Godolfim | rowspan="4" | Open call winner |
| Paulo Caetano
| "Sons de festa" | António Alves dos Santos, Daniel Marques Ferreira |
| Paulo João Sousa
| "Não vou chorar" | Paulo Martins de Sousa |
| Raquel Alão
| "Quando eu te beijo" | João Oliveira, José Miguel Oliveira |
| Sónia Mendes
|"Da primeira vez" |João Mota Oliveira, Nuno Gomes dos Santos |Invited by RTP |
| Susana Pinto
| "Rosa dos ventos" | Simon Wadsworth, Fernando Soares, Ramiro Paulo Martins | rowspan="3" |Open call winner |
| Telmo Miranda
| "Madrigal de Lianor" | José Manuel Coelho |
| Vanda
| "África" | Pedro Miguel Luz Mascarenhas |
== Shows ==
== Semi-finals ==
The five semi-finals took place during the television programme Há Horas Felizes between 25 January and 22 February 1997, hosted by Isabel Angelino.{{Cite web |title=RTP 50 anos |url=https://museu.rtp.pt/livro/50Anos/Livro/DecadaDe90/RTPAfricaEExpo98NoCaminhoDasNovasTecnologias/Pag5/default.htm |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=museu.rtp.pt}} In each semi-final three entries competed and one advanced to the final based on the results from a public televote.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}
| class="sortable wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; text-align:center;"
|+ Semi-final 1 – 25 January 1997 |
| Draw
! Artist ! Song ! Result |
|---|
| 1
| align="left" | Carlos Coincas | align="left" | "Canto de esperar" | align="left" | Eliminated |
| style="font-weight:bold; background:#FFDEAD;"
| 2 | align="left" | Oriundi | align="left" | "Nosso canto chão" | align="left" | Advanced |
| 3
| align="left" | Paulo João Sousa | align="left" | "Não vou chorar" | align="left" | Eliminated |
| class="sortable wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; text-align:center;"
|+ Semi-final 2 – 1 February 1997 |
| Draw
! Artist ! Song ! Result |
|---|
| 1
| align="left" | Carla Pires | align="left" | "Gaivotas de um mar revolto" | align="left" | Eliminated |
| 2
| align="left" | Vanda | align="left" | "África" | align="left" | Eliminated |
| style="font-weight:bold; background:#FFDEAD;"
| 3 | align="left" | Raquel Alão | align="left" | "Quando eu te beijo" | align="left" | Advanced |
| class="sortable wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; text-align:center;"
|+ Semi-final 3 – 8 February 1997 |
| Draw
! Artist ! Song ! Result |
|---|
| style="font-weight:bold; background:#FFDEAD;"
| 1 | align="left" | Cristina Almeida | align="left" | "Senhora da saia verde" | align="left" | Advanced |
| 2
| align="left" | Paulo Caetano | align="left" | "Sons de festa" | align="left" | Eliminated |
| 3
| align="left" | Água Mole | align="left" | "Pedra dura" | align="left" | Eliminated |
| class="sortable wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; text-align:center;"
|+ Semi-final 4 – 15 February 1997 |
| Draw
! Artist ! Song ! Result |
|---|
| 1
| align="left" | Paula Cardoso and Carlos Ançã | align="left" | "Sonhos de verão" | align="left" | Eliminated |
| style="font-weight:bold; background:#FFDEAD;"
| 2 | align="left" | Telmo Miranda | align="left" | "Madrigal de Lianor" | align="left" | Advanced |
| 3
| align="left" | Carlos Alberto Vidal | align="left" | "Menino de rua" | align="left" | Eliminated |
| class="sortable wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; text-align:center;"
|+ Semi-final 5 – 22 February 1997 |
| Draw
! Artist ! Song ! Result |
|---|
| 1
| align="left" | Susana Pinto | align="left" | "Rosa dos ventos" | align="left" | Eliminated |
| style="font-weight:bold; background:#FFDEAD;"
| 2 | align="left" | Filipa Lourenço | align="left" | "Quadro sonhador" | align="left" | Advanced |
| 3
| align="left" | Ema and Isabel Viana | align="left" | "Corrente da terra mãe" | align="left" | Eliminated |
== Final ==
The final took place at the Coliseu dos Recreios in Lisbon on 7 March 1997, hosted by António Sala and Cristina Caras Lindas. The five entries that qualified from the five preceding semi-finals alongside the three pre-qualifying entries competed and the winner, "Antes do adeus" performed by Célia Lawson, was selected based on the combination of votes of 20 regional juries and a public televote which acted as a 21st jury.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}} In addition to the performances of the competing entries, among the artists which performed as the interval act included Portuguese Eurovision 1965 and 1969 entrant Simone de Oliveira and Portuguese Eurovision 1971 entrant Tonicha.
| class="sortable wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; text-align:center"
|+ Final – 7 March 1997 |
| Draw
! Artist ! Song ! Conductor ! Points ! Place |
|---|
| 1
| align="left" | Oriundi | align="left" | "Nosso canto chão" | align="left" | Ramon Galarza |65 |8 |
| 2
| align="left" | Raquel Alão | align="left" | "Quando eu te beijo" | align="left" | Pedro Duarte |115 |3 |
| 3
| align="left" | Cristina Almeida | align="left" | "Senhora da saia verde" | rowspan="2" align="left" | José Marinho |104 |5 |
| 4
| align="left" | Telmo Miranda | align="left" | "Madrigal de Lianor" |111 |4 |
| 5
| align="left" | Os Meninos da Sacristia | align="left" | "Canção urgente" | align="left" | Mike Sergeant |102 |6 |
| 6
| align="left" | Sónia Mendes | align="left" | "Da primeira vez" | align="left" | Pedro Duarte |116 |2 |
| style="font-weight:bold; background:gold;"
|7 | align="left" | Célia Lawson | align="left" | "Antes do adeus" | align="left" | Thilo Krasmann |127 |1 |
| 8
| align="left" | Susana Pinto | align="left" | "Rosa dos ventos" | align="left" | Simon Wadsworth |79 |7 |
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; text-align:center;"
|+ {{nowrap|Detailed Voting Results}} | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Draw
! Song ! {{vert header|nb=1|Aveiro}} ! {{vert header|nb=1|Beja}} ! {{vert header|nb=1|Braga}} ! {{vert header|nb=1|Bragança}} ! {{vert header|nb=1|Castelo Branco}} ! {{vert header|nb=1|Coimbra}} ! {{vert header|nb=1|Évora}} ! {{vert header|nb=1|Faro}} ! {{vert header|nb=1|Madeira}} ! {{vert header|nb=1|Guarda}} ! {{vert header|nb=1|Leiria}} ! {{vert header|nb=1|Lisbon}} ! {{vert header|nb=1|Azores}} ! {{vert header|nb=1|Portalegre}} ! {{vert header|nb=1|Porto}} ! {{vert header|nb=1|Santarém}} ! {{vert header|nb=1|Setúbal}} ! {{vert header|nb=1|Viana do Castelo}} ! {{vert header|nb=1|Vila Real}} ! {{vert header|nb=1|Viseu}} ! {{vert header|nb=1|Televote}} ! Total | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1
| align="left" | "Nosso canto chão" | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4
|1 | 65 |
| 2
| align="left" | "Quando eu te beijo" | 8 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 6
|3 | 115 |
| 3
| align="left" | "Senhora da saia verde" | 4 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 10
|5 | 104 |
| 4
| align="left" | "Madrigal de Lianor" | 5 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 3
|2 | 111 |
| 5
| align="left" | "Canção urgente" | 6 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 8
|10 | 102 |
| 6
| align="left" | "Da primeira vez" | 10 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2
|6 | 116 |
| 7
| align="left" | "Antes do adeus" | 3 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 5
|8 | 127 |
| 8
| align="left" | "Rosa dos ventos" | 2 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 1
|4 | 79 |
At Eurovision
File:3_Arena_Front.JPG in Dublin, Ireland, on 3 May 1997.]]
According to Eurovision rules, the twenty-four countries which had obtained the highest average number of points over the last four contests competed in the final on 3 May 1997.{{cite web |title=Rules of the Eurovision Song Contest (Part 1) |url=http://events.rte.ie/eurovision97/Facts/rules.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990202163833/http://events.rte.ie/eurovision97/Facts/rules.html |archive-date=2 February 1999 |access-date=29 June 2022 |publisher=Radió Telefís Éireann}} On 28 November 1996, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Portugal was set to perform in position 15, following the entry from Bosnia and Herzegovina and before the entry from Sweden. The Portuguese conductor at the contest was the co-composer of "Antes do adeus" Thilo Krasmann,{{citation needed|date=May 2025}} and Portugal finished in twenty-fourth (last) place failing to score any points.{{cite web |title=Final of Dublin 1997 |url=https://eurovision.tv/event/dublin-1997/final |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414084557/https://eurovision.tv/event/dublin-1997/final |archive-date=14 April 2021 |access-date=14 April 2021 |publisher=European Broadcasting Union}} This was the third time Portugal finished in last place and the second time the nation received nul points, the previous occasion being in 1964.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}
In Portugal, the show was broadcast on RTP1 and RTP Internacional with commentary by Carlos Ribeiro.{{cite news |date=1 May 1997 |title=Programmes TV – Samedi 3 mai |language=fr |trans-title=TV programmes – Saturday 3 May |pages=20–25 |work=TV8 |publisher=Ringier |location=Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland |url=https://scriptorium.ch/zoom/323743/view?page=11&p=verso&tool=info&view=0,0,5186,3608 |access-date=26 June 2022 |via=Scriptorium}}{{cite news |date=1 May 1997 |title=Programa da televisão |language=pt |trans-title=Television programme |page=6 |work=A Comarca de Arganil |url=https://www.acomarcadearganil.cm-arganil.pt/a-comarca-de-arganil-10566/ |access-date=29 November 2022}} The Portuguese spokesperson, who announced the votes of the Portuguese jury, was Cristina Rocha.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}
=Voting=
Portugal did not receive any points at the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Italy in the contest with the full breakdown of points awarded by Portugal displayed below.{{cite web |title=Results of the Final of Dublin 1997 |url=https://eurovision.tv/event/dublin-1997/final/results/portugal |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414113945/https://eurovision.tv/event/dublin-1997/final/results/portugal |archive-date=14 April 2021 |access-date=14 April 2021 |publisher=European Broadcasting Union}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest}}
{{Eurovision Song Contest 1997}}