Tel Aviv 2019 may have only just wrapped up a couple of months ago, but it was only last year that Portugal hosted contest for the first time. RTP, the Portuguese broadcaster, has been awarded with a prestigious award for their creativity behind the visuals. They had previously won RTP wins an Eyes and Ears of Europe Award in November last year.
Even though RTP hosted the contest back in May 2018, the awards keep on rolling in for the Portuguese broadcaster. This month, they won the coveted Gold Award at the Meios & Publicidade Creativity Awards in the ‘Integrated Project category’. Previously, they had won an Eyes and Ears of Europe Award for their visuals and their ‘All Aboard’ slogan.
Eurovision 2019
The 2018 Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal. The first and second semi-final took place on the 8th and 10th of May, respectively. The Grand Final took place on the 12th May. Following on from the ‘Celebrate Diversity’ theme of the 2017 contest, the contest was presented by four women; Caterina Furtado, Silvia Alberto, Daniela Ruah and Filomena Cautela co-hosted the contest.
When RTP chose ‘All Aboard’ as its slogan last year, RTP spoke about the reasons behind their choice. The main aspects of the slogan were Diversity, Respect and Tolerance.
For centuries, Portugal explored the world by sea. Today, Lisbon is more and more the city of all colors, a great harbour of cultures and sounds that welcomes you all to come aboard!
Creative Manager of RTP, Gonçalo Madaíl on the slogan
Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest
Portugal was once seen as one of the most unlucky Eurovision countries, holding the record for the longest period of participation without a win (49 attempts). They often struggled to qualify for the final once the semi finals were introduced in 2004. In 14 participations, Portugal failed to qualify 9 times.
Of course, their non-winning streak was broken in 2017, when Salvador Sobral won the contest with “Amar Pelos Dois”. Not only was this their first win, but it was also their first and only top 5 placing in the contest to date.
Unfortunately, RTP have not matched this success since then. As the host nation in 2018, Portugal got its fourth last place finish with Cláudia Pascoal’s “O Jardim”. In Tel Aviv, Conan Osíris controversially did not qualify for the grand final with “Telemoveis”, placing 15th in the first semi-final.
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