2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo

The official emblem of the Comité Olímpico de Portugal: a flagpole with the Portuguese Order of Christ cross to the right and the five Olympic rings below. Clockwise around the coin's inner rim: the year "2021", the issuing state "PORTUGAL" and the commemorative inscription "NOS JOGOS OLIMPICOS DE TOQUIO '20". The mint name "CASA DA MOEDA" and the designer's name "F. PROVIDENCIA" appear to the left.

Portugal looks back on more than a hundred years of Olympic history. Since the 1912 Games in Stockholm, the country has taken part regularly in the Summer Olympics, with interruptions during the politically turbulent decades of the early 20th century. The Comité Olímpico de Portugal, founded in 1909, has since coordinated the participation of Portuguese athletes and is one of the oldest national Olympic organizations in Europe. Portugal gained international recognition above all through its achievements in athletics — long-distance runners such as Carlos Lopes, who won Olympic gold in the marathon in Los Angeles in 1984, and Rosa Mota, a three-time Olympic medalist, rank among the outstanding names in Portuguese sport.

The emblem of the Comité Olímpico de Portugal combines two defining elements of Portuguese history: the cross of the Order of Christ, symbol of the maritime discoveries of the 15th and 16th centuries, with the five Olympic rings. This order financed and carried out the great voyages of exploration under Henry the Navigator and played a central role in opening the sea routes to Africa, Asia, and America. By incorporating this historic cross into its logo, the Olympic committee anchors sport in a national self-image shaped by exploration and expansiveness. On the occasion of the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games — postponed by a year due to the pandemic — Portugal issued this 2-euro commemorative coin.