Portugal was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1969 with the song "Desfolhada portuguesa", composed by Nuno Nazareth Fernandes, with lyrics by Ary dos Santos, and performed by Simone de Oliveira. The Portuguese participating broadcaster, Radiotelevisão Portuguesa (RTP), selected its entry at the Grande Prémio TV da Canção Portuguesa 1969. Actually, de Oliveira was not the authors' first choice to defend the song at the national final, having even been invited to a week of the event. This was her second participation in Eurovision, having already represented Portugal in the 1965 contest.
Before Eurovision
Grande Prémio TV da Canção Portuguesa 1969
Radiotelevisão Portuguesa (RTP) held the Grande Prémio TV da Canção Portuguesa 1969 at the Teatro São Luiz in Lisbon on 24 February 1969, hosted by Lurdes Norberto. It was the first time that the competition was held in front of an audience. Ten songs took part in the final. Ferrer Trindade conducted all but two songs.[1] The results were determined by a distrital jury, composed by three members, each had 5 votes to be distributed among the songs it intended to award, making a total of 15 votes per district.[2]
Grande Prémio TV da Canção Portuguesa - 24 February 1969
On the night of the final Oliveira performed 15th in the running order, following France and preceding Finland. At the close of the voting the song had received 4 points, coming 15th in the field of 16 competing countries.[3] The orchestra during the Portuguese entry was conducted by Ferrer Trindade.[4]
The Portuguese people followed the minute the presence of Simone de Oliveira in Eurovision, through the reports emitted by the radio and newspapers of that time. It was a great disappointment when it became known that Oliveira and the choristers were unwell on the eve of the event due to having eaten spoiled apple pie, which forced them to undergo medical intervention.[5] Fortunately, this episode did not prevent Simone, the two members of the choir (Maria Alexandre de Brito and Natália Rodrigues de Matos) and the guitarist (António Luís Gomes) from taking the stage of the Teatro Real.[5]
Despite the poor placing, when Simone returned by train from Madrid to Santa Apolónia Station, in Lisbon, she was received with the biggest demonstration ever given to a singer by the Portuguese people, even at a time when demonstrations were prohibited.[6][7] The regime was unable to stop the strength of the people who made a point of paying homage to their representative at the Eurovision and sang "Desfolhada portuguesa" in unison.[6][7]Simone de Oliveira was the target of the biggest demonstration ever made to a Portuguese singer.[5]
^Roxburgh, Gordon (2012). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. One: The 1950s and 1960s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 93–101. ISBN978-1-84583-065-6.
