Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014

The logo of Festival da Canção 2014

Festival da Canção 2014 was the 49th edition of Festival da Canção that selected Portugal's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. Ten entries competed in the competition that consisted of a semi-final held on 8 March 2014 leading to a five-song final on 15 March 2014. Both shows of the competition took place at the Convento do Beato in Lisbon, hosted by Sílvia Alberto and José Carlos Malato with Joana Teles hosting from the green room, and were broadcast on RTP1, RTP África, RTP Internacional and RTP HD as well as online via the broadcaster's official website rtp.pt.[5]

The format of the competition consisted of two shows: a semi-final on 8 March 2014 and the final on 15 March 2014. The semi-final featured ten competing entries from which five advanced from the show to complete the five song lineup in the final. Results during the semi-final and the final were determined exclusively by public televoting.[4] The public televote for the final was opened following the semi-final and closed during the show.[6]

Ten Portuguese and foreign composers were invited by RTP for the competition. The composers both created the songs, which were required to be in Portuguese, and selected its performers with the approval of RTP. The selected composers were revealed on 28 January 2014, while the competing artists were revealed on 11 February 2014.[7][8] The composers were:

The semi-final took place on 8 March 2014. Ten entries competed and five advanced to the final based on the results of a public televote.[9] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Portuguese Eurovision 1985 entrant Adelaide Ferreira, Portuguese Eurovision 1986 and 1988 entrants Dora, Portuguese Eurovision 1995 entrant Tó Cruz and Portuguese Eurovision 2008 entrant Vânia Fernandes performed as the interval acts.[6]

The final took place on 15 March 2014. The five entries that qualified from the preceding semi-final competed and the winner, "Quero ser tua" performed by Suzy, was selected solely by a public televote.[10] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Henrique Feist and Portuguese Eurovision 1996 entrant Lucia Móniz performed as the interval acts.[11]

Following Suzy's victory at Festival da Canção 2014, second and third-placed acts Catarina Pereira and Rui Andrade raised concerns about the outcome of the competition, which involved suspicions that the composer of "Quero ser tua", Emanuel, had influenced the televote in favour of the victory of his entry.[12] The composer of Pereira's song, Carlos Coelho, stated that he would request an audit due to the discrepancy of the results and violation of rules, involving the difference of the number of votes allowed per telephone in both shows, the use of stage props, and the editing and reproduction rights of the competing songs.[13]

Suzy made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Quero ser tua" as the Portuguese Eurovision entry. On 5 April, Suzy performed during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the Melkweg venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Cornald Maas and Sandra Reemer.[14] She also performed during the London Eurovision Party on 13 April, which was held at the Café de Paris venue in London, United Kingdom and hosted by Nicki French and Paddy O'Connell.[15]

Suzy during a rehearsal before the first semi-final

Suzy took part in technical rehearsals on 29 April and 2 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 5 and 6 May. This included the jury final where professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.

The Portuguese performance featured Suzy dressed in a red short outfit, designed by designer João Rolo, performing choreography with two backing vocalists, two dancers playing two large drums that light as they were beat and waving red flags, and a percussionist performing on a hand drum. The LED screens displayed red, green and yellow colours with a wind machine special effect being used.[20][21] The performance was choreographed by Paulo Magalhães. The backing vocalists were Marta Mota and Sara Campina, the dancers were Luís Filipe Pimenta and Renato Nobre, while the percussionist was Jefferson Negreiros.[22]

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 eleventh in the semi-final, receiving a total of 39 points.[23]

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 were citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury was asked to judge each contestant 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 could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member were released shortly after the grand final.

Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Portugal had placed seventh with the public televote and sixteenth (last) with the jury vote in the first semi-final. In the public vote, Portugal scored 72 points, while with the jury vote, Portugal scored 17 points.

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Portugal and awarded by Portugal in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows: