Eurovision 2017: Here comes Portugal

Italy has been the hot favourite at Eurovision with its dancing gorilla, but it is the stillness and magic of Portugal’s Salvador Sobral who may just take out the event this weekend.

Sobral’s exquisite Amar Pelos Dois wowed the audience today in Kyiv, for his vocal and the intimacy created with a spell-binding ballad. No surprises he is through to the Final.

But Sobral also has a backstory that has gained plenty of attention. He has a heart condition and, given cannot leave his medical team for two weeks to be in Ukraine, his sister Luisa (the songwriter) stepped in during the technical rehearsals.

The performance has been kept as simple as possible to help Savador compete without problems.

Initially, Sobral wanted to keep his potentially life-threatening condition a secret but following his performance in the Portuguese national final, he required urgent surgery to repair two hernias.

Portugal have been trying to win Eurovision since 1964 and their best result was 6th place in 1996. It has not even qualified for the Final since 2010.

Depending on where he is placed in the Final (the later the better), something tells me this will be their year, even without a gorilla….

Source: Metro