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Vânia Fernandes, Portuguese Eurovision singer of 2008, in an interview with ESC Portugal her discontent expressed about the absence of her country in Stockholm.

In 2008 broke Vânia Fernandes the ban for Portugal. Since the introduction of the semi-final in 2004 the country had still not managed to qualify for the final. They managed and took out the thirteenth place in Belgrade with Senhora do mar. Of the last fourteen Portuguese Eurovision entries is Fernandez ‘ listing the best. It is again since 2010 since the Portugal finals.

The festival in Stockholm let the Portuguese to itself passing. ‘ After a long evaluation of our participation and the need to adapt and renew, the programming has RTP decided to Eurovision not on the agenda. We’re taking a break, but promise a return in 2017 ‘, it sounded in October.

Portugal, which participates since 1964, has withdrawn from the Eurovision song contest five times. In three of the five cases was that opvallenderwijze when Sweden was host. If the by Vânia Fernandes, Portugal returns as soon as possible. ‘ I would love to make a comeback with the same team, even if it is practically impossible. On the other hand, it is also called selfish because there are so many artists out there who deserve to get that opportunity ‘, it sounds.

Fernandes is not to mention the absence of her country in Stockholm. ‘ It is nothing short of dramatic, I can’t otherwise express. It is inappropriate to lack of money or the financial crisis as reason to make up for our non-participation. It comes to set priorities. RTP must surely realise what the Eurovision song contest. The number of opportunities that the contest creates weigh heavier than the participation fee. Everyone knows that money never was the problem. I understand our public broadcaster. It shows little respect for our artists. Festival da Canção, our national preliminary round, was for many years a platform with plenty of opportunities for a lot of Portuguese artists. This is sin ‘, it sounds.