| Portugal | |
| Contest: | ESC |
| Broadcaster: | Portuguese: [[Rádio e Televisão de Portugal]]|i=no (RTP; 2004–present) |
| Apps: | 55 (46 finals) |
| Highest: | 1st: |
| Related: | Portuguese: [[Festival da Canção]]|i=no |
| Current: | 2024 |
Portugal has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 55 times since its debut at the . Since then it has missed five contests (and). The current Portuguese participant broadcaster in the contest is Portuguese: [[Rádio e Televisão de Portugal]]|i=no (RTP), which select its entrant with the national selection Portuguese: [[Festival da Canção]]|i=no. Portugal won the contest for the first time in and hosted the contest in Lisbon.
Portugal finished last on its debut in 1964 and again in, before achieving its best result of the 20th century in, with "Portuguese: [[O meu coração não tem cor]]|i=no" performed by Lúcia Moniz finishing sixth. The country then finished last for the third time in . Having not appeared in the final since and as holders of the record for most appearances in the contest without a win, Portugal won at the 49th attempt, when "Portuguese: [[Amar pelos dois]]|i=no" by Salvador Sobral won the 2017 contest, Portugal's first top-five result in the contest. As hosts in 2018, the country finished last in the contest for a fourth time.
Portuguese: [[Radiotelevisão Portuguesa]]|i=no (RTP) was a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), thus eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. It participated in the contest representing Portugal since its in 1964. Since 2004, after a restructuring that led to the incorporation of RTP into the current Portuguese: [[Rádio e Televisão de Portugal]]|i=no (RTP), it is the latter who participates representing Portugal.
Portugal's debut entry was "Portuguese: [[Oração]]|i=unset" by António Calvário. It was not a successful debut for the country, with Calvário coming last in the contest. Since then, Portugal has come last on three further occasions, in with "Portuguese: [[E depois do adeus]]|i=unset" by Paulo de Carvalho, in with "Portuguese: [[Antes do adeus]]|i=unset" by Célia Lawson, and in as a host country. Despite its last-place finish in the contest, "E depois do adeus" gained notability for being used as the radio musical signal to begin the Carnation Revolution against the Estado Novo regime, being played at 22:55 on 24 April 1974.[1] Prior to its sixth-place finish for "Portuguese: [[O meu coração não tem cor]]|i=no" by Lúcia Moniz in, Portugal's best result in the contest was two seventh-place finishes, for Carlos Mendes in and José Cid in . Despite prior poor results, the 1990s were the most successful decade for the country, with four recorded finishes in the top 10. Portugal was relegated in 2000 due to insufficient points accrued, and withdrew in 2002 due to financial difficulties (allowing Latvia, who ultimately won, to compete).
Since semi-finals were introduced in, Portugal has failed to reach the final eight times, including from 2004 to 2007. In, "Portuguese: [[Senhora do mar (negras águas)|Senhora do mar]]|i=no" by Vânia Fernandes finished 13th, Portugal's best result since 1996. The country continued to be present in the final until 2010. In, Portugal reached the finals with "Portuguese: [[Amar pelos dois]]|i=no" by Salvador Sobral, ending a 6-year non-appearance in the finals, as it did not participate in the contest in 2013 and 2016 and did not qualify for the finals in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015, finally winning the contest for the first time ever, earning 758 points, setting the record for the highest number of points in the history of the competition, topping both the televoting and jury voting for the first time since 's "Rise Like a Phoenix" in . It was the first winning song entirely performed in a country's native language since 's "Serbian: [[Molitva]]|i=unset" in . As the host country in, Portugal came last for the fourth time in the contest, and for the first time in a non-joint last position. This was the third instance of a host country placing in the bottom five since . Following a non-qualification in, Portugal recorded a 12th-place finish in, a ninth-place finish in, a 23rd-place finish in, and a tenth-place finish in .
Portugal has been absent from five contests since their first participation. The country's first absence was in, where Portugal, along with four other countries, boycotted the contest due to the result of the previous year, when four countries were announced the winner.[2]
Portugal missed the due to their poor average results over the past five years. Despite being eligible to enter the 2002 contest, RTP declined to enter, and was replaced by eventual winner Latvia.[3]
The fourth absence was in, when Portugal didn't participate for financial reasons.[4]
The fifth absence was in .[5] RTP stated that this break was needed in order to facilitate a content renewal for its national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, Festival da Canção.[6]
See main article: Festival da Canção. Festival da Canção (sometimes referred to as "Festival RTP da Canção") is the Portuguese national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, organized by RTP, and is normally held between February and March of the year of the contest. It is one of the longest-running Eurovision selection methods. Previously a number of regional juries selected the winner, however, the winner has been selected through televoting in recent years. In 2009, 2010 and since 2017, a 50/50 system between regional juries and televoting has been used.
In the years when Portugal does not participate in the contest, Festival da Canção was not held, except in two occasions: in 1970, when Portugal boycotted the contest, and in 2000, when the country was relegated.
| + Table key | ||
| 1 | First place | |
| 2 | Second place | |
| 3 | Third place--> | |
| ◁ | Last place | |
| X | Entry selected but did not compete | |
| † | Upcoming event |
| Year | Artist | Song | Language | Final | Points | Semi | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| António Calvário | "Portuguese: [[Oração]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 13 ◁ | 0 | rowspan="28" colspan="2" | ||
| Simone de Oliveira | "Portuguese: [[Sol de inverno]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 13 | 1 | |||
| Madalena Iglésias | "Portuguese: [[Ele e ela]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 13 | 6 | |||
| Eduardo Nascimento | "Portuguese: [[O vento mudou]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 12 | 3 | |||
| Carlos Mendes | "Portuguese: [[Verão]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 11 | 5 | |||
| Simone de Oliveira | "Portuguese: [[Desfolhada portuguesa]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 15 | 4 | |||
| Tonicha | "Portuguese: [[Menina do alto da serra]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 9 | 83 | |||
| Carlos Mendes | "Portuguese: [[A festa da vida]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 7 | 90 | |||
| Fernando Tordo | "Portuguese: [[Tourada]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 10 | 80 | |||
| Paulo de Carvalho | "Portuguese: [[E depois do adeus]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 14 ◁ | 3 | |||
| Duarte Mendes | "Portuguese: [[Madrugada (song)|Madrugada]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 16 | 16 | |||
| Carlos do Carmo | "Portuguese: [[Uma flor de verde pinho]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 12 | 24 | |||
| Os Amigos | "Portuguese: [[Portugal no coração]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 14 | 18 | |||
| Gemini | "Dai li dou" | Portuguese | 17 | 5 | |||
| Manuela Bravo | "Portuguese: [[Sobe, sobe, balão sobe]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 9 | 64 | |||
| José Cid | "Portuguese: [[Um grande, grande amor]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 7 | 71 | |||
| Carlos Paião | "Playback" | Portuguese | 18 | 9 | |||
| Doce | "Portuguese: [[Bem bom]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 13 | 32 | |||
| Armando Gama | "Portuguese: [[Esta balada que te dou]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 13 | 33 | |||
| Maria Guinot | "Portuguese: [[Silêncio e tanta gente]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 11 | 38 | |||
| Adelaide | "Portuguese: [[Penso em ti, eu sei]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 18 | 9 | |||
| Dora | "Portuguese: [[Não sejas mau para mim|Não sejas mau p'ra mim]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 14 | 28 | |||
| Nevada | "Portuguese: [[Neste barco à vela]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 18 | 15 | |||
| Dora | "Portuguese: [[Voltarei]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 18 | 5 | |||
| Da Vinci | "Portuguese: [[Conquistador (Da Vinci song)|Conquistador]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 16 | 39 | |||
| Nucha | "Portuguese: [[Há sempre alguém]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 20 | 9 | |||
| Dulce | "Portuguese: [[Lusitana paixão]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 8 | 62 | |||
| Dina | "Portuguese: [[Amor d'água fresca]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 17 | 26 | |||
| Anabela | "Portuguese: [[A cidade (até ser dia)|A cidade até ser dia]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 10 | 60 | colspan="2" | ||
| Sara | "Portuguese: [[Chamar a música]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 8 | 73 | rowspan="2" colspan="2" | ||
| Tó Cruz | "Portuguese: [[Baunilha e chocolate]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 21 | 5 | |||
| Lúcia Moniz | "Portuguese: [[O meu coração não tem cor]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 6 | 92 | 18 | 32 | |
| Célia Lawson | "Portuguese: [[Antes do adeus]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 24 ◁ | 0 | rowspan="5" colspan="2" | ||
| Alma Lusa | "Portuguese: [[Se eu te pudesse abraçar]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 12 | 36 | |||
| Rui Bandeira | "Portuguese: [[Como tudo começou]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 21 | 12 | |||
| MTM | "Portuguese: [[Só sei ser feliz assim]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 17 | 18 | |||
| Rita Guerra | "Portuguese: [[Deixa-me sonhar (só mais uma vez)|Deixa-me sonhar]]|i=unset" | Portuguese, English | 22 | 13 | |||
| Sofia Vitória | "Portuguese: [[Foi magia]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 15 | 38 | |||
| 2B | "Portuguese: [[Amar (song)|Amar]]|i=unset" | Portuguese, English | 17 | 51 | |||
| Nonstop | "Portuguese: [[Coisas de nada (Gonna Make You Dance)|Coisas de nada]]|i=unset" | Portuguese, English | 19 | 26 | |||
| Sabrina | "Portuguese: [[Dança comigo (vem ser feliz)|Dança comigo]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 11 | 88 | |||
| Vânia Fernandes | "Portuguese: [[Senhora do mar (negras águas)]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 13 | 69 | 2 | 120 | |
| Flor-de-Lis | "Portuguese: [[Todas as ruas do amor]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 15 | 57 | 8 | 70 | |
| Filipa Azevedo | "Portuguese: [[Há dias assim]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 18 | 43 | 4 | 89 | |
| Homens da Luta | "Portuguese: [[A luta é alegria]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 18 | 22 | |||
| Filipa Sousa | "Portuguese: [[Vida minha]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 13 | 39 | |||
| Suzy | "Portuguese: [[Quero ser tua]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 11 | 39 | |||
| Leonor Andrade | "Portuguese: [[Há um mar que nos separa]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 14 | 19 | |||
| Salvador Sobral | "Portuguese: [[Amar pelos dois]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 1 | 758 | 1 | 370 | |
| Cláudia Pascoal | "Portuguese: [[O jardim]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 26 ◁ | 39 | colspan="2" | ||
| Conan Osíris | "Portuguese: [[Telemóveis]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | 15 | 51 | |||
| Elisa | "Portuguese: [[Medo de sentir (Elisa song)|Medo de sentir]]|i=unset" | Portuguese | colspan="4" X | ||||
| The Black Mamba | "Love Is on My Side" | English | 12 | 153 | 4 | 239 | |
| Maro | "Portuguese: [[Saudade, saudade]]|i=unset" | English, Portuguese | 9 | 207 | 4 | 208 | |
| Mimicat | "Portuguese: [[Ai coração (Mimicat song)|Ai coração]]|i=no" | Portuguese | 23 | 59 | 9 | 74 | |
| Iolanda | "Portuguese: [[Grito (song)|Grito]]|i=no" | Portuguese | 10 | 152 | 8 | 58 | |
| Year | Category | Song | Composer | Performer | Final | Points | Host city | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Press Award | "Portuguese: [[Senhora do mar (negras águas)]]|i=unset" | Andrej Babić, Carlos Coelho | Vânia Fernandes | 13 | 69 |  Belgrade | ||
| Artistic Award | "Portuguese: [[Amar pelos dois]]|i=unset" | Luísa Sobral | Salvador Sobral | 1 | 758 |  Kyiv | ||
| Composer Award |
| Year | Performer | Host city | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonstop |  Athens | |||
| Conan Osiris |  Tel Aviv |
| Year | Conductor | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kai Mortensen | [7] | |||
| Fernando de Carvalho | ||||
| Jorge Costa Pinto | ||||
| Armando Tavares Belo | ||||
| Joaquim Luis Gomes | ||||
| Ferrer Trindade | ||||
| Jorge Costa Pinto | [8] | |||
| Richard Hill | ||||
| Jorge Costa Pinto | ||||
| Jose Calvario | ||||
| Pedro Osorio | ||||
 Thilo Krasmann | ||||
| Jose Calvario | ||||
| Thilo Krasmann | ||||
| Jorge Machado | [9] | |||
| Shegundo Galarza | ||||
| Luis Duarte | ||||
| Mike Sergeant | ||||
| Pedro Osorio | ||||
| Jose Calvario | ||||
| Colin Frechter | ||||
| Jaime Oliveira | ||||
| Jose Calvario | ||||
| Luis Duarte | ||||
| Carlos Alberto Moniz | ||||
| Fernando Correia Martins | ||||
| Carlos Alberto Moniz | ||||
| Armindo Neves | ||||
| Thilo Krasmann | ||||
| Pedro Osorio | ||||
| Thilo Krasmann | ||||
| Mike Sergeant |
Additionally, there was an orchestra present at the Portuguese national final in 1999 and 2001, where the winning entries were conducted by José Marinho and Rui Filipe Reis, respectively.
| Year | Television commentator | Radio commentator | Spokesperson | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federico Gallo | rowspan="9" | |||
| Gomes Ferreira | Maria Manuela Furtado | |||
| Henrique Mendes | ||||
| rowspan="3" | ||||
| Amadeu Meireles | ||||
| Henrique Mendes | ||||
| Amadeu Meireles | Ana Zanatti | |||
| José Côrte-Real | ||||
| Eládio Clímaco | Isabel Wolmar | |||
| rowspan="7" | João Abel da Fonseca | |||
| Isabel Wolmar | Teresa Cruz | |||
| Eládio Clímaco | Margarida Andrade | |||
| Fialho Gouveia | ||||
| Eládio Clímaco | João Abel Fonseca | |||
| Fialho Gouveia | Eládio Clímaco | |||
| Eládio Clímaco | Maria Margarida Gaspar | |||
| Fialho Gouveia | Fialho Gouveia | Margarida Andrade | ||
| Maria Margarida Gaspar | rowspan="12" | Ana Zanatti | ||
| Margarida Andrade | Maria Margarida Gaspar | |||
| Ana Zanatti | Margarida Andrade | |||
| Ana do Carmo | João Abel Fonseca | |||
| Maria Margarida Gaspar | ||||
| Eládio Clímaco | Ana Zanatti | |||
| Isabel Bahia | Margarida Mercês de Mello | |||
| Eládio Clímaco | Isabel Bahia | |||
| Ana do Carmo | ||||
| Maria Margarida Gaspar | Cristina Rocha | |||
| Carlos Ribeiro | ||||
| Rui Unas | ||||
| João David Nunes | ||||
| Eládio Clímaco | rowspan="9" | |||
| Margarida Mercês de Mello | ||||
| Margarida Mercês de Mello | Helena Ramos | |||
| Eládio Clímaco | Isabel Angelino | |||
| Cristina Alves | ||||
| Francisco Mendes | ||||
| Hélder Reis | rowspan="9" | Helena Coelho | ||
| Sérgio Mateus | Ana Galvão | |||
| Joana Teles | ||||
| Pedro Granger | ||||
| Sílvia Alberto | ||||
| Joana Teles | ||||
| Hélder Reis, Ramon Galarza | ||||
| Hélder Reis, Nuno Galopim | ||||
| José Carlos Malato, Nuno Galopim | ||||
| Hélder Reis, Nuno Galopim | Noémia Gonçalves, António Macedo, Tozé Brito | Pedro Fernandes | ||
| José Carlos Malato, Nuno Galopim | rowspan="4" | Inês Lopes Gonçalves | ||
| Nuno Galopim | Pedro Tatanka | |||
| José Carlos Malato, Nuno Galopim | ||||