ABSTRACT
Our goal is to discuss the mobilization of sport in the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of Salazar’s entry into government (1953). We will reflect on the influence of the empire in this sense, using as sources the Boletim Geral do Ultramar, documents from the Serviço Nacional de Informação, periodicals that circulated in the metropolis and in the overseas territories, and an issue of the film journal Imagens de Portugal. We focus on three activities whose programming integrated sports: the inaugurations of facilities, the competitions and the parade of flags. We conclude that the presence of this practice is an indicator of its importance among Salazar’s initiatives to produce consensus discourses, including with regard to the affirmation of Portugal’s multi-territorial character, fundamental at a time when the country felt the first impacts of international pressures aiming at decolonization.
Keywords:
Portugal History; Sport History; Celebrations