Portugal selected their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 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 ...
.
Before Eurovision
''Festival da Canção 1996''
''1996'' was the 34th edition of ' that selected Portugal's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1996. Ten entries competed in the contest that was held on 7 March 1996 at 20:30 GMT at
Teatro Politeama in
Lisbon and was broadcast on
RTP1
RTP1 (''RTP um'') is a Portuguese free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP). It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainst ...
and
RTP Internacional
RTP Internacional (RTPi) is a Portuguese free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP). It is the company's international television service, and is known for broadcast ...
. The winner was selected through the votes of 10 regional juries of Portugal. The winner was
Lúcia Moniz
Ana Lúcia Pereira Moniz (born 9 September 1976) is a Portuguese singer and actress. Moniz represented her country in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 and has released five music albums She has also acted in several television shows, in theat ...
with the song "O meu coração não tem cor". In addition to the performances of the competing entries, 1993 Portuguese representative Anabela performed as guest.
At Eurovision
In 1996, for the only time in Eurovision history, an audio-only qualifying round of the 29 songs entered (excluding hosts Norway who were exempt) was held in March in order for the seven lowest-scoring songs to be eliminated before the final. Moniz placed 18th with 32 points, thus qualifying for the final.
On the night of the contest, Moniz performed 4th, following
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and preceding
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
. Although the song was in second place in the voting at best, at the end of the voting Moniz received 92 points, finishing 6th out of 23 competing countries.
This was Portugal's best placing at the contest in its history until
Salvador Sobral's victory 21 years later.
Voting
Qualifying round
Final
Notes
References
External links
Portuguese National Final 1996
{{Eurovision Song Contest 1996
1996
Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996
Eurovision