Portugal has kept things somewhat similar to their national final performance, with The Black Mamba performing in black and white for the start of their performance. The colour appears, and so does a live orchestra – well, at least on the backing screens! It’s a nice effect, and it does make the stage seem fuller.
At around the second chorus, projected love hearts appear on the backing screens, and the side screen appears with projections of a woman walking down a street. It tells more of the story of the song, whereas in the national final we were left to rely solely on lyrics. Lead singer Tatanka walks to the front stage where he picks up his guitar. It’s genuinely a lovely performance. Will that translate to votes though? It may not have enough impact, at least for the televoting, but the juries might pick up on this. It’s well performed with strong vocals, as we saw in the national final. I can’t rule Portugal out yet.