Mimicat is the stage name of the Portuguese singer Marisa Mena, 38 years old, who applied to the Festival da Canção, submitting “Ai Coração”. The singer had already participated in 2001 in one of the semifinals of the festival, with the name Izamena.

Mimicat will represent Portugal in the 67th Eurovision Song Contest, whose final is scheduled for May 13 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. The final is preceded by two semifinals on the 9th and 11th of May and Portugal is in the first semifinal.

In the regional jury vote, there was a tie between the songs by Mimicat and Edmundo Inácio, but in the public vote, 12 points went to the song “Ai Coração”.

In 2022, Portugal participated in Eurovision with “Saudade, Saudade”, composed and performed by Maro, which finished in ninth place.

The Eurovision victory in 2022 went to Ukraine with the song “Stefania”, by the Kalush Orchestra group.

Ukraine was supposed to be the host country of the festival this year, but because of the Russian military invasion in the country, the organisation decided that the ceremony would be in the United Kingdom, in Liverpool.

Portugal participated in the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in 1964 and won for the first and only time in 2017, with “Amar por dois”, performed by Salvador Sobral and composed by Luísa Sobral. Following the victory, Lisbon hosted the competition the following year.