Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003

Prior to the 2003 contest, (RTP) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Portugal thirty-six times since its first entry in . Its highest placing in the contest was sixth, achieved in with the song "" performed by Lúcia Moniz. Its least successful result has been last place, which it has achieved on three occasions, most recently in with the song "" performed by Célia Lawson. The Portuguese entry has also received nul points on two occasions; in 1964 and 1997. RTP confirmed its participation in the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest on 29 November 2002. The broadcaster has traditionally selected its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest via the music competition , with an exception in when it selected its entry internally. Despite the initial announcement that the selection of the 2003 Portuguese entry would involve the reality singing competition Operação Triunfo, the broadcaster internally selected the artist due to scheduling conflicts and organized a national final in order to select the song. ==Before Eurovision==

Artist selection On 9 January 2003, RTP announced that it had internally selected Rita Guerra as its representative in Riga. Guerra previously attempted to represent Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest, placing second in with the song "". RTP also announced that her song for the contest would be chosen through a national final. 2003 Composers were able to submit their songs for the competition between 9 January 2003 and 5 February 2003. The national final consisted of two shows held during the first season of the reality singing competition Operação Triunfo, which took place at the Endemol TV Studios in Mem-Martins, hosted by Catarina Furtado and broadcast on RTP1 and RTP Internacional. The first show took place on 23 February 2003 where all three competing songs were performed by Rita Guerra. The winning song was selected solely by a public televote that opened following the first show and closed during the second show on 2 March 2003, when "" was announced as the winning song. == At Eurovision ==

The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 took place at the Skonto Hall in Riga, Latvia, on 24 May 2003. According to the Eurovision rules, the participant list for the contest was composed of the winning country from the previous year's contest, any countries which had not participated in the previous year's contest, and those which had obtained the highest placing in the previous contest, up to the maximum 26 participants in total. The draw for running order had previously been held on 29 November 2002 in Riga, with the results being revealed during a delayed broadcast of the proceedings later that day. Portugal was set to perform in position 7, following the entry from Bosnia and Herzegovina and before the entry from Croatia. Portugal finished in twenty-second place with 13 points. RTP broadcast the show on RTP1 and RTP Internacional with commentary by Margarida Mercês de Melo. Voting Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Portugal and awarded by Portugal in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Spain in the contest. RTP appointed Helena Ramos to announce the top 12-point score awarded by the Portuguese televote. ==References==