Data about Portuguese abroad. Screenshot from video

Switzerland has been chosen for this year’s double commemoration of Portugal Day on June 10th, the Portugal News reports on June 9th.

Home to the second largest community of Portuguese emigrants in Europe and the world, Switzerland has about 260,000 Portuguese citizens with a citizen card, a stable number slightly below the 2016 peak of 275,000. France holds the largest Portuguese community, where the double celebration model was first introduced eight years ago, in 2016.

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This model, launched by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and then Prime Minister António Costa in 2016, involves celebrating Portugal Day first in Portugal and then with Portuguese communities abroad. Switzerland is the seventh country to host the celebration, following France (2016), Brazil (2017), the United States (2018), Cape Verde (2019), the United Kingdom (2022), and South Africa (2023). In 2020 and 2021, celebrations were limited to Portugal due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Switzerland, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Luís Montenegro will visit Geneva, Bern, and Zurich on Tuesday, June 11th and Wednesday, June 12th to celebrate with the Portuguese community.

The Portugal News and agencies