Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998

Portugal participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Se eu te pudesse abraçar" written by José Cid. The song was performed by the group Alma Lusa. Songwriter José Cid represented Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980 with the song "Um grande, grande amor" which placed seventh in the competition. The Portuguese broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) organised the national final Festival da Canção 1998 in order to select the Portuguese entry for the 1998 contest in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The competition took place on 7 March 1998 where "Se eu te pudesse abraçar" performed by Alma Lusa emerged as the winner following the votes from a five-member jury panel.

Portugal competed in the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 9 May 1998. Performing during the show in position 14, Portugal placed twelfth out of the 25 participating countries, scoring 36 points.

Background
Prior to the 1998 contest, Portugal had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest thirty-three times since its first entry in 1964. The nation's highest placing in the contest was sixth, which they achieved in 1996 with the song "O meu coração não tem cor" performed by Lúcia Moniz. Portugal's least successful result has been last place, which they have achieved on three occasions, most recently in 1997 with the song "Antes do adeus" performed by Célia Lawson. Portugal has also received nul points on two occasions; in 1964 and 1997.

The Portuguese national broadcaster, Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP), broadcasts the event within Portugal and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. The broadcaster has traditionally selected the Portuguese entry for the Eurovision Song Contest via the music competition Festival da Canção, with an exception in 1988 when the Portuguese entry was internally selected. The broadcaster organized Festival da Canção 1998 in order to select the 1998 Portuguese entry.

Festival da Canção 1998
Festival da Canção 1998 was the 35th edition of Festival da Canção that selected Portugal's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1998. Eight entries, selected from 29 submissions received through the Portuguese Phonographic Association, the Independent Phonographic Association and individual composers invited by RTP, competed in the competition which took place at the Teatro São Luiz in Lisbon on 7 March 1998, hosted by Carlos Ribeiro and former Eurovision Song Contest entrant Lúcia Moniz, who represented Portugal in the 1996 contest, and broadcast on RTP1 and RTP Internacional. The winner, "Se eu te pudesse abraçar" performed by Alma Lusa, was selected based on the votes of a jury panel. The jury that voted consisted of Maria do Rosário Domingues, João Filipe Barbosa, Nuno Galopim, Paulo de Carvalho and Sara Tavares. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, among the artists which performed as the interval act included Portuguese Eurovision 1985 entrant Adelaide Ferreira and Portuguese Eurovision 1993 entrant Anabela.

Alma Lusa were a short-lived Portuguese musical group, set up specifically to participate in Festival da Canção 1998. The group consisted of vocalist Inês Santos and musicians José Cid, Carlos Jesus, Henrique Lopes, Carlos Ferreirinha and Pedro Soares; Cid represented Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980.

At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the eight countries which had obtained the lowest average number of points over the last five contests competed in the final on 9 May 1998. On 13 November 1997, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Portugal was set to perform in position 14, following the entry from Ireland and before the entry from Romania. The day before the contest, Portugal was considered by bookmakers to be the twelfth most likely country to win the competition. The Portuguese conductor at the contest was Mike Sergeant, and Portugal finished in twelfth place with 36 points.

In Portugal, the show was broadcast on RTP1 and RTP Internacional with commentary by Rui Unas. The Portuguese spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the Portuguese televote, was 1996 contest entrant Lúcia Moniz.

Voting
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Portugal and awarded by Portugal in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Israel in the contest.