Portugal has participated in Eurovision since 1964 and took a memorable first victory in the Song Contest in 2017, Portugal has a rich history across the wider family of events.
Portugal in Eurovision
Portugal debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1964 represented by António Calvário. The country finished last scoring nul points. Prior to 2017, the best result of Portugal was 6th place which came in 1996 when Lúcia Moniz performed in Oslo. She scored 92 points, receiving 12 points from both Norway and Cyprus.
Since their debut, Portugal has missed a total of five contests. In 2017, Portugal produced a spectacular win when Salvador Sobral took home the crystal microphone with his song “Amar pelos dois”. The 2018 contest was held in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon for the first time.
- 1964 – António Calvário – “Oração” – 13th – 0 points
- 1965 – Simone de Oliveira – “Sol de inverno” – 13th – 1 point
- 1966 – Madalena Iglésias – “Ele e ela” – 13th – 6 points
- 1967 – Eduardo Nascimento – “O vento mudou” – 12th – 3 points
- 1968 – Carlos Mendes – “Verão” – 11th – 5 points
- 1969 – Simone de Oliveira – “Desfolhada portuguesa” – 15th – 4 points
- 1971 – Tonicha – “Menina do alto da serra” – 15th – 4 points
- 1972 – Carlos Mendes – “A festa da videa” – 7th – 90 points
- 1973 – Fernando Tordo – “Tourada” – 10th – 80 points
- 1974 – Pauldo de Carvalho – “E depois do adeus” – 14th – 3 points
- 1975 – Duarte Mendes – “Madrugada” – 16th – 16 points
- 1976 – Carlos do Carmo – “Uma flor de verde pinho” – 12th – 24 points
- 1977 – Os Amigos – “Portugal no coração” – 14th – 18 points
- 1978 – Gemini – “Dai li dou” – 17th – 5 points
- 1979 – Manuela Bravo – “Sobe, sobe, balão sobe” – 9th – 64 points
- 1980 – José Cid – “Um grande, grande amor” – 7th – 71 points
- 1981 – Carlos Paião – “Playback” – 18th – 9 points
- 1982 – Doce – “Bem bom” – 13th – 32 points
- 1983 – Armando Gama – “Esta balada que te dou” – 13th – 33 points
- 1984 – Maria Guinot – “Silêncio e tanta gente” – 11th – 38 points
- 1985 – Adelaide – “Penso em ti, eu sei” – 18th – 9 points
- 1986 – Dora – “Não sejas mau p’ra mim” – 14th – 28 points
- 1987 – Nevada – “Neste barco à vela” – 18th – 15 points
- 1988 – Dora – “Voltarei” – 18th – 5 points
- 1989 – Da Vinci – “Conquistador” – 16th – 39 points
- 1990 – Nucha – “Há sempre alguém” – 20th – 9 points
- 1991 – Dulce Pontes – “Lusitana paixão” – 8th – 62 points
- 1992 – Dina – “Amor d’água fresca” – 17th – 26 points
- 1993 – Anabela – “A cidade até ser dia” – 10th – 60 points
- 1994 – Sara – “Chamar a música” – 8th – 73 points
- 1995 – Tó Cruz – “Baunilha e chocolate” – 21st – 5 points
- 1996 – Lúcia Moniz – “O meu coração não tem cor” – 6th – 92 points
- 1997 – Célia Lawson – “Antes do adeus” – 24th – 0 points
- 1998 – Alma Lusa – “Se eu te pudesse abraçar” – 12th – 36 points
- 1999 – Rui Bandeira – “Como tudo começou” – 21st – 12 points
- 2001 – MTM – “Só sei ser feliz assim” – 17th – 18 points
- 2003 – Rita Guerra – “Deixa-me sonhar” – 22nd – 13 points
- 2004 – Sofia Vitória – “Foi magia” – 15th in the Semi-Final – 38 points
- 2005 – 2B – “Amar” – 17th in the Semi-Final – 51 points
- 2006 – Nonstop – “Coisas de nada” – 19th in the Semi-Final – 26 points
- 2007 – Sabrina – “Dança comigo” – 11th in the Semi-Final – 88 points
- 2008 – Vânia Fernandes – “Senhora do mar (negras águas)” – 13th – 69 points
- 2009 – Flor-de-lis – “Todas as ruas do amor” – 15th – 57 points
- 2010 – Filipa Azevedo – “Há dias assim” – 18th – 43 points
- 2011 – Homes de Luta – “A luta é alegria” – 18th in the Semi-Final – 22 points
- 2012 – Filipa Sousa – “Vida minha” – 13th in the Semi-Final – 39 points
- 2014 – Suzy – “Quero ser tua” – 11th in the Semi-Final – 39 points
- 2015 – Leonor Andrade – “Há um mar que nos separa” – 14th in the Semi-Final – 19 points
- 2017 – Salvador Sobral – “Amor pelos dois” – 1st – 758 points
- 2018 – Cláudia Pascoal – “O jardim” – 26th – 39 points
- 2019 – Conan Osíris – “Telemóveis” – 15th in the Semi-Final – 51 points
- 2020 – Elisa – “Medo de sentir” – Contest cancelled due to COVID-19
- 2021 – The Black Mamba – “Love Is on My Side” – 12th – 153 points
- 2022 – Maro – “Saudade, saudade” – 9th – 207 points
- 2023 – Mimicat – “Ai coração” – 23rd – 59 points
- 2024 – Iolanda – “Grito” – 10th – 152 points
- 2025 – Napa – “Deslocado” – 21st – 50 points
- 2026 – Bandidos do Cante – “Rosa” – 12th in the Semi-Final – 74 points
Portugal did not compete in 1970 in protest at the four-way tie for first in 1969. They next missed a contest in 2000 due to poor results in 1999, while in 2002 Portugal qualified to compete in the contest but withdrew due to issues at the broadcaster, this enabled Latvia to compete who would take the victory. Portugal missed the 2013 contest due to financial issues, while they did not compete in 2016 to revise its approach to the contest.
Portugal and other Eurovision family events
Portugal has competed in a number of the wider Eurovision family events and in 1996 hosted Eurovision Young Musicians in Lisbon.
Eurovision Dance Contest
Portugal competed in both editions of the Eurovision Dance Contest and was due to compete in the third edition before it was cancelled. Portugal’s results were:
- 2007 – Sónia Araújo and Ricardo Silva – 6th – 74 points
- 2008 – Raquel Tavares and João Tiago – 8th – 61 points
- 2009 – Were due to compete but contest was cancelled
Eurovision Young Dancers
Portugal has participated in Eurovision Young Dancers four times, most recently competing in the last edition of the contest held in 2017.
- 1989 – Ana Lacerda – Did not qualify for the final
- 1991 – Sonia Lima – Did not qualify for the final
- 2011 – Ricardo Macedo
- 2017 – Raquel Fidalgo
Eurovision Young Musicians
Portugal debuted in Eurovision Young Musicians in 1990, following an unsuccessful attempt to compete in 1986 where they were unable to select a participant. In 1996 RTP hosted the contest in Lisbon.
- 1990 – António Miguel Camolas Quitalo (Trumpet) – Did not qualify for the final
- 1992 – Participant unknown – Did not qualify for the final
- 1994 – Ruben Da Luz Santos (Trombone) – Did not qualify for the final
- 1996 (Host) – Raquel Queirós (Violin) – Did not qualify for the final
- 1998 – Participant unknown – Did not qualify for the final
- 2014 – André Gunko (Cello)
- 2026 – Beatriz Li Rosão (Violin)
Jeux sans frontières
Jeux sans frontières was organised by the European Broadcasting Union between 1965 and 1999, with thirty editions of the show held. The show saw broadcasters send teams to compete in a series of games, each broadcaster hosted one episode. Portugal participated in 15 series from 1979 to 1982 and 1988 to 1998. Portugal was also among the broadcasters involved in a planned 2007 relaunch of the series which ultimately fell through.
Junior Eurovision Song Contest
Portugal debuted at the 2006 edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Bucharest, Romania. The country placed second-last that year and the year later, before withdrawing in 2008. They did not return until 2017 where they were represented by Mariana Venancio, who placed 14th with her song “YouTuber”. In 2022.
- 2006 – Pedro Madeira – “Deixa-me sentir” – 14th – 22 points
- 2007 – Jorge Leiria – “Só quero é cantar” – 16th – 15 points
- 2017 – Mariana Venancio – “Youtuber” – 14th – 54 points
- 2018 – Rita Laranjeira – “Gosto de tudo (já não gosto de nada)” – 18th – 42 points
- 2019 – Joana Almeida – “Vem comigo (Come with Me)” – 16th – 43 points
- 2021 – Simão Oliveira – “O rapaz” – 11th – 101 points
- 2022 – Nicolas Alves – “Anos 70” – 8th – 121 points
- 2023 – Júlia Machado – “Where I Belong” – 13th – 75 points
- 2024 – Victoria Nicole – “Esperança” – 2nd – 213 points
- 2025 – Inês Gonçalves – “Para onde vai o amor?” – 13th – 73 points
Other Programs
The following shows were also broadcast in Portugal:
- Songs of Europe – 1981
- Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest – 2005
- Eurovision Europe Shine a Light – 2020
During the history of the Eurovision Song Contest and Eurovision family of events over fifty countries have competed, but there are more countries eligible or interested in participating. Find out more here.
Image Source: EBU