Since Portugal had come in 11th in the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 , Vânia Fernandes was obliged to perform her song in one of the two semi-finals of the 2008 contest . The EBU split up countries with a friendly voting history into the two different semi-finals , to give a better chance to other countries to win . On 28 January 2008 , the EBU held a special draw which determined that Portugal would be in the second semi-final , held on 22 May 2008 . The draw for the running order allowed three countries in each semi-final to select their positions in the running order . Portugal was selected as a wild card , and were allowed to select their position in the semi-final . As such , the Portuguese delegation for the contest selected to perform 19th ( last ) on the night of the semi-final
Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008