Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011

  • Vasco Duarte
  • Jel
Finals performanceSemi-final resultFailed to qualify (18th)Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2010 2011 2012►

Portugal participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "A luta é alegria" written by Vasco Duarte and Jel. The song was performed by the group Homens da Luta. The Portuguese broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) organised the national final Festival da Canção 2011 in order to select the Portuguese entry for the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany. The competition took place on 5 March 2011 where "A luta é alegria" performed by Homens da Luta emerged as the winner after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from twenty regional juries and a public televote.

Portugal was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 10 May 2011. Performing during the show in position 16, A luta é alegria" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Portugal placed eighteenth out of the 19 participating countries in the semi-final with 22 points.

Background

Prior to the 2011 contest, Portugal had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty-four times since its first entry in 1964.[1] The nation's highest placing in the contest was sixth, which they achieved in 1996 with the song "O meu coração não tem cor" performed by Lúcia Moniz. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004, Portugal had featured in only three finals. Portugal's least successful result has been last place, which they have achieved on three occasions, most recently in 1997 with the song "Antes do adeus" performed by Célia Lawson. Portugal has also received nul points on two occasions; in 1964 and 1997. The nation qualified to the final in 2010 and placed eighteenth with the song "Há dias assim" performed by Filipa Azevedo.

The Portuguese national broadcaster, Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP), broadcasts the event within Portugal and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. RTP confirmed Portugal's participation in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest on 5 November 2010.[2] The broadcaster has traditionally selected the Portuguese entry for the Eurovision Song Contest via the music competition Festival da Canção, with exceptions in 1988 and 2005 when the Portuguese entries were internally selected. Along with their participation confirmation, the broadcaster revealed details regarding their selection procedure and announced the organization of Festival da Canção 2011 in order to select the 2011 Portuguese entry.

Before Eurovision

Festival da Canção 2011

The logo of Festival da Canção 2011

Festival da Canção 2011 was the 47th edition of Festival da Canção that selected Portugal's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. Twelve entries competed in the competition which took place on 5 March 2011 at the Teatro Camões in Lisbon. The show was hosted by Sílvia Alberto with Joana Teles hosting from the green room and broadcast on RTP1, RTP1 HD, RTP África and RTP Internacional as well as online via the broadcaster's official website rtp.pt.[3][4]

Competing entries

Artists and composers were able to submit their entries for the competition between 19 November 2010 and 16 January 2011. Composers of any nationality were allowed to submit entries, however artists were required to possess Portuguese citizenship and songs were required to be submitted in Portuguese.[5] A jury panel consisting of Head of Delegation for Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest José Poiares, and music producers Fernando Martins and Ramón Galarza selected twenty-four entries for an online vote from 407 submissions received, which were revealed on 19 January 2011.[6] On 22 January 2011, "Por ti", written and to have been performed by António José Silva, "Um sinal", written by Bettershell and Isaías Ricardo de Oliveira and to have been performed by Bettershell, and "Amor cruzado", written and to have been performed by Miguel Gizzas, were disqualified from the competition due to the songs having been released or performed prior to 1 October 2010.[7]

90-second excerpts of the twenty-one competing entries were released online via rtp.pt on 20 January 2011 and users were able to vote by distributing three votes to their favourite songs until 27 January 2011.[8] 222,764 valid votes were received at the conclusion of the voting period and the top twelve entries that advanced to the final were revealed on 28 January 2011.[9]

Results of the online vote – 20–27 January 2011
Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Votes Place
1 Homens da Luta "A luta é alegria" Vasco Duarte, Jel 17,374 1
2 Alma Real "Não quero falar" Thorsten Rath, Sérgio de Oliveira 12,431 13
3 Sandra Dória "Aprende a voar (Nas asas do amor)" Luís Filipe Aguilar 2,470 18
4 Woodu "O tempo resolve tudo" Bem Talbot, José Cid, Ana Sofia Cid 261 21
5 Emanuel Santos "Não estamos sós" Ralph Siegel, Bernd Meinunger, Pedro Coelho 694 20
6 Nádia Correia "Sonhos do verbo amar" Ricardo Verdelho 11,651 15
7 Henrique Feist "Quase a voar" Nuno Feist, José Fanha 13,844 8
8 Wanda Stuart "Chegar à tua voz" Paul Teixeira da Sousa 14,394 2
9 Tânia Tavares "Se esse dia chegar" Gorgi, Tânia Tavares, Nuno Valério 13,592 11
10 Rui Andrade "Em nome do amor" Artur Guimarães, Carlos Meireles 13,656 10
11 Carla Ribeiro "Só acontece uma vez" João Sanguilheira, João Novo 4,862 17
12 Inês Bernardo "Deixa o meu lugar" Leonel Monteiro, Joana Ferraz 14,105 3
13 Axel "Boom Boom Yeah" José Félix, Axel 13,448 12
14 Carla Pires "Voar alto" Artur Guimarães, Paulo Pires de Lima 11,967 14
15 7Saias "Embalo do coração" Páquito C. Braziel, Ana Rita Rebello 14,056 6
16 Carla Moreno "Sobrevivo" Andrej Babić, Carlos Coelho 13,868 7
17 Filipa Ruas "Tensão" Daniel Nilsson, Henrik Szabo, Johnny Sanchez, Jonas Gladnikoff,
Mike Eriksson, Filipa Ruas, Pedro Sá
14,058 5
18 Daniela Galbin "Amor a sério" Pedro Saraiva, Daniela Galbin 829 19
19 Nuno Norte "São os barcos de Lisboa" Carlos Massa 13,817 9
20 Pop Pin's "Esta noite vamos curtir" José Cardoso, Guy Ribeiro 7,325 16
21 Ricardo Sousa "O mar, o vento, e as estrelas" Carlos Freitas, Fernando Guerreiro 14,062 4

Final

The final took place on 5 March 2011. Twelve entries competed and the winner, "A luta é alegria" performed by Homens da Luta, was selected based on the 50/50 combination of votes of twenty regional juries and a public televote. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Portuguese Eurovision 1967 entrant Eduardo Nascimento, Portuguese Eurovision 2010 entrant Filipa Azevedo and Maltese Eurovision 2011 entrant Glen Vella performed as the interval act.[10][11]

Final – 5 March 2011
Draw Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place
Votes Points Percentage Points
1 7Saias "Embalo do coração" 129 8 4.12% 2 10 8
2 Carla Moreno "Sobrevivo" 33 1 4.74% 4 5 11
3 Nuno Norte "São os barcos de Lisboa" 174 12 5.75% 5 17 2
4 Rui Andrade "Em nome do amor" 106 5 15.85% 10 15 3
5 Henrique Feist "Quase a voar" 96 4 8.11% 6 10 6
6 Wanda Stuart "Chegar à tua voz" 116 7 4.55% 3 10 7
7 Tânia Tavares "Se esse dia chegar" 116 7 2.54% 0 7 10
8 Inês Bernardo "Deixa o meu lugar" 161 10 2.49% 0 10 9
9 Filipa Ruas "Tensão" 38 2 11.34% 8 10 4
10 Homens da Luta "A luta é alegria" 113 6 27.11% 12 18 1
11 Axel "Boom Boom Yeah" 4 0 2.56% 1 1 12
12 Ricardo Sousa "O mar, o vento, e as estrelas" 74 3 10.85% 7 10 5
Detailed Regional Jury Votes
Draw Song
Aveiro
Beja
Braga
Bragança
Castelo Branco
Coimbra
Évora
Faro
Madeira
Guarda
Leiria
Lisbon
Azores
Portalegre
Porto
Santarém
Setúbal
Viana do Castelo
Vila Real
Viseu
Total score
1 "Embalo do coração" 6 6 12 6 10 7 3 5 6 8 4 12 8 2 12 8 2 2 3 7 129
2 "Sobrevivo" 1 1 4 1 2 10 2 1 3 8 33
3 "São os barcos de Lisboa" 4 7 6 10 6 10 10 12 10 12 5 7 10 8 8 12 5 12 12 8 174
4 "Em nome do amor" 12 8 2 8 2 5 2 12 2 2 2 5 5 6 10 12 7 2 2 106
5 "Quase a voar" 7 2 5 3 4 5 8 3 5 4 10 10 3 7 3 5 4 5 3 96
6 "Chegar à tua voz" 8 5 10 2 2 3 6 1 7 1 8 5 12 6 4 2 8 10 6 10 116
7 "Se esse dia chegar" 5 10 3 5 5 8 4 6 3 3 7 8 4 10 5 4 10 4 7 5 116
8 "Deixa o meu lugar" 10 12 8 7 3 12 12 4 8 5 12 6 7 12 7 7 7 8 10 4 161
9 "Tensão" 4 7 1 7 4 2 1 6 1 5 1 38
10 "A luta é alegria" 2 4 7 12 7 6 1 8 4 10 6 1 6 3 10 6 1 3 4 12 113
11 "Boom Boom Yeah" 1 1 1 1 4
12 "O mar, o vento, e as estrelas" 3 3 8 12 4 7 6 3 4 2 1 2 3 3 6 1 6 74

Controversy

The outcome of Festival da Canção 2011 caused much controversy as most of the audience had left the venue in protest after the victory of Homens da Luta was announced. Criticism was also received from runner-up Nuno Norte who raised concerns of whether the winner was "what the public wants to see at Eurovision" (despite "A luta é alegria" winning the televote).[12] The group, who claimed to be "the struggling people of Portugal", attended a previously scheduled concert following the competition with lead singer Jel stating: "People are joining the struggle, every time you hear someone singing the song in the streets, it is someone else that is joining the struggle".[13]

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) 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 (EBU) 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 17 January 2011, 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.[14] Portugal was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 10 May 2011, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.[15] The running order for the semi-finals was decided through another draw on 15 March 2011 and Portugal was set to perform in position 16, following the entry from Hungary and before the entry from Lithuania.

In Portugal, the three shows were broadcast on RTP1, RTP1 HD and RTP Internacional with commentary by Sílvia Alberto. The first semi-final and the final were broadcast live, while the second semi-final was broadcast on delay.[16] The Portuguese spokesperson, who announced the Portuguese votes during the final, was Joana Teles.

Semi-final

Homens da Luta took part in technical rehearsals on 2 and 6 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 9 and 10 May. This included the jury final where professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.

The Portuguese performance featured six of the members of Homens da Luta dressed in outfits representing various communities in Portugal, four of them which performed with signs displaying the title of the song, "A luta é alegria", in several European languages and one of them which performed with a megaphone. The LED screens displayed red and green flowers which symbolise the Carnation Revolution in 1974.[17][18]

At the end of the show, Portugal was not announced among the top 10 entries in the first semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Portugal placed eighteenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 22 points.[19]

Voting

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding points from 1-8, 10 and 12 as determined by a combination of 50% national jury and 50% televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.

Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Portugal had placed fifteenth with both the public televote and nineteenth (last) in the jury vote in the first semi-final. In the public vote, Portugal scored 39 points, while with the jury vote, Portugal scored 6 points.[20]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Portugal and awarded by Portugal in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Greece in the semi-final and to Spain in the final of the contest.

Points awarded to Portugal

Points awarded to Portugal (Semi-final 1)[21]
Score Country
12 points
10 points
8 points  Spain
7 points
6 points
5 points
4 points
3 points  United Kingdom
2 points  Georgia
1 point  Greece

Points awarded by Portugal

Points awarded by Portugal (Semi-final 1)[21]
Score Country
12 points  Greece
10 points  Iceland
8 points  Finland
7 points  Azerbaijan
6 points  Lithuania
5 points   Switzerland
4 points  Albania
3 points  Russia
2 points  Norway
1 point  Serbia
Points awarded by Portugal (Final)[22]
Score Country
12 points  Spain
10 points  Italy
8 points  Azerbaijan
7 points  Ukraine
6 points  Ireland
5 points  Moldova
4 points  Iceland
3 points  United Kingdom
2 points  France
1 point  Slovenia

References

  1. ^ "Portugal Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  2. ^ Costa, Nelson (5 November 2010). "PORTUGAL - Festival da Canção back in 2011". Oikotimes.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  3. ^ "Meo e RTP lançam Aplicação Interactiva Festival da Canção 2011". telemoveis.com (in Portuguese). 1 March 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  4. ^ Vranis, Michalis (5 March 2011). "Live: Portugal decides for Dusseldorf". Esctoday. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  5. ^ Costa, Nelson (19 November 2010). "Submissions begins today in Portugal". www.oikotimes.com. Retrieved 19 November 2010.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ Ferreira, David (19 January 2011). "Anunciados semi-finalistas ao 'Festival da Canção 2011'". atelevisao.com (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  7. ^ "RTP - Festival da Canção 2011: Comunicado nº 1". Archived from the original on 25 January 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
  8. ^ "Portugal reveals the participants of Festival da Canção". eurovision.tv. 20 January 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  9. ^ Pinto, Sónia (28 January 2011). "Portugal: The 12 finalists announced". Esctoday. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  10. ^ Braga, Zita Ferreira. "Surpreendentemente, Homens da Luta vencem Festival da Canção RTP 2011". oturismo.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  11. ^ Vranis, Michalis (5 March 2011). "Live: Portugal decides for Dusseldorf". Esctoday. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  12. ^ Alves, Eurico (4 February 2011). "Nuno Norte critica Homens da Luta". ESC Portugal (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  13. ^ Conceição, Ivo (8 March 2011). "Homens da Luta - Festival da Canção 2011 @ Jel e Ivo Conceição (entrevista)". YouTube. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  14. ^ Bakker, Sietse (16 January 2011). "Düsseldorf gets ready for exchange and draw". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  15. ^ "Results of the Semi-Final Allocation Draw". eurovision.tv. 17 January 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  16. ^ "SILVIA ALBERTO THE RTP COMMENTATOR IN DUSSELDORF". oikotimes.com. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  17. ^ "Portugal brings the struggle to Düsseldorf". eurovision.tv. 2 May 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Portugal: Multilingual signs and a megaphone". eurovision.tv. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  19. ^ "First Semi-Final of Düsseldorf 2011". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  20. ^ Bakker, Sietse (26 May 2011). "EBU reveals split televoting and jury results". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 28 May 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  21. ^ a b "Results of the First Semi-Final of Düsseldorf 2011". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Results of the Grand Final of Düsseldorf 2011". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.

External links

  • (in Portuguese) RTP - Festival da Canção 2011
  • v
  • t
  • e
ParticipationArtistsSongs
  • "Ai coração"
  • "Amar"
  • "Amar pelos dois"
  • "Amor d'água fresca"
  • "Antes do adeus"
  • "Baunilha e chocolate"
  • "Bem bom"
  • "Chamar a música"
  • "A cidade (até ser dia)"
  • "Coisas de nada"
  • "Como tudo começou"
  • "Conquistador"
  • "Dai li dou"
  • "Dança comigo"
  • "Deixa-me sonhar"
  • "Desfolhada portuguesa"
  • "E depois do adeus"
  • "Ele e ela"
  • "Esta balada que te dou"
  • "A festa da vida"
  • "Uma flor de verde pinho"
  • "Foi magia"
  • "Um grande, grande amor"
  • "Grito"
  • "Há dias assim"
  • "Há sempre alguém"
  • "Há um mar que nos separa"
  • "O jardim"
  • "Love Is on My Side"
  • "Lusitana paixão"
  • "A luta é alegria"
  • "Madrugada"
  • "Medo de sentir"
  • "Menina do alto da serra"
  • "O meu coração não tem cor"
  • "Não sejas mau para mim"
  • "Neste barco à vela"
  • "Oração"
  • "Penso em ti, eu sei"
  • "Playback"
  • "Portugal no coração"
  • "Quero ser tua"
  • "Saudade, saudade"
  • "Se eu te pudesse abraçar"
  • "Senhora do mar (negras águas)"
  • "Silêncio e tanta gente"
  • "Só sei ser feliz assim"
  • "Sobe, sobe, balão sobe"
  • "Sol de inverno"
  • "Telemóveis"
  • "Todas as ruas do amor"
  • "Tourada"
  • "O vento mudou"
  • "Verão"
  • "Vida minha"
  • "Voltarei"
  • Note: Entries scored out signify where Portugal did not compete
  • v
  • t
  • e
Countries
Final
Semi-finals
Artists
Final
Semi-finals
Songs
Final
Semi-finals
  • "Angel in Disguise"
  • "Boom Boom"
  • "Celebrate"
  • "Ding Dong"
  • "Feel the Passion"
  • "Haba Haba"
  • "I Love Belarus"
  • "I'm Still Alive"
  • "Jestem"
  • "Live It Up"
  • "A luta é alegria"
  • "Na inat"
  • "Never Alone"
  • "One Life"
  • "Rusinka"
  • "San aggelos s'agapisa"
  • "Stand By"
  • "With Love Baby"