Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

took part at the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

1993 in Millstreet, Ireland, represented by Anabela with the song "A cidade (até ser dia)". Anabela was selected through the annual

Festival da Canção Festival da Canção (; "Song Festival") or Festival RTP da Canção is the name given to the national festival, produced and broadcast by Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) to choose the for the Eurovision Song Contest. It was first held in ...

, Portugal's Eurovision selection show, to represent the country at the contest in Ireland.

Before Eurovision

Festival da Canção 1993

The

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

broadcaster, Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP), used the popular

to select their entry for the

Eurovision Song Contest 1993 The Eurovision Song Contest 1993 was the 38th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Millstreet, Ireland, following the country's victory at the with the song " Why Me?" by Linda Martin. Organised by the European Broadcastin ...

Format

The format for the 1993 Portuguese selection was similar to that of the previous year, but with a few adjustments. Once again, there would be five semi-finals, and the qualifiers were chosen by a panel of five judges (among them former Eurovision participants

Fernando Tordo Fernando Travassos Tordo (born March 29, 1948 in Lisbon, Portugal) is Portuguese singer and songwriter. Since 2003 he has been a Commander of the Order of Merit, an honor bestowed on him by the Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio. Considered one ...

, who competed in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

, and

Dulce Pontes Dulce José Silva Pontes (; born 8 April 1969) is a Portuguese songwriter and singer who performs in many musical styles, including pop, folk, and classical music. She is usually defined as a world music artist. Her songs contributed to the 1990s ...

, who competed in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

; and future Eurovision participant

Rita Guerra Rita Maria de Azevedo Mafra Guerra, commonly known as Rita Guerra (born 22 October 1967) is a Portuguese singer-songwriter. She represented Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 where she sang " Deixa-me sonhar" and finished 22nd. In 20 ...

, who would represent her country in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

). However, there were now four songs in each semi, and the top eight songs across all five

semi-finals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

would compete in the final. The semi-finals were hosted by

Júlio Isidro Júlio José de Pinho Isidro do Carmo Order of Prince Henry, ComIH (born 5 January 1945 in Lisbon), better known as Júlio Isidro is a Portuguese television presenter, radio announcer and entertainer. Early career When fifteen, Isidro was hired b ...

Semi-finals

Final

The final was held on 11 March 1993 at the São Luiz Theatre in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

and was hosted by António Sala and Margarida Mercês de Medo. The winner was decided through the votes of 22 regional juries. The winner was "A cidade (até ser dia)," sung by Anabela and written by Pedro Abrantes, former Eurovision entrant

Paulo de Carvalho Paulo de Carvalho (born Manuel Paulo de Carvalho Costa, in Lisbon, on 15 May 1947) is a Portuguese singer. Career Carvalho co-founded the band The Sheiks in 1965. He sang and played the drums. He also played an instrumental role, either as a fou ...

, and Marco Quelhas. The song was arranged by the song writer's brother

Fernando Abrantes Fernando Fromm-Abrantes (born 1960) is a German-Portuguese producer and musician. Background He is a former member/keyboardist of the electronic/experimental pop band Kraftwerk. He went to the German school in Lisbon. After finishing school he ...

, who also performed it at the piano live on stage together with the singer Anabela during the Eurovision final in Ireland.

At Eurovision

Anabela performed 11th on the night of the contest, following

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and preceding

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. She received 60 points in total, placing 10th in a field of 25. It was the first time since 1976 that Portugal received twelve points from any other countries, with both the Netherlands and Spain awarding Portugal their highest score. Portugal themselves awarded twelve points to France.

Voting

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 1993

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1993

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...