From Tuesday next week Loulé – along with many other towns and cities throughout the country – will explode into a world of music and colour as Carnival reaches fever pitch.
After a few years without, Loulé will once again be staging three consecutive days of carnival celebrations – on 11, 12 and 13 February – this year following a theme inspired by the massive IT event staged annually in Lisbon, the Web Summit.
The main parade takes place on Tuesday afternoon, starting at 3pm, in Loulé’s version of the Brazilian ‘Sambadrome’, along the main Avenida José da Costa Mealha, which is closed off for the event.
It foresees the participation of 14 floats, five samba schools, and 10 entertainment groups.
Carlos Carmo, Loulé councillor for Events, said that by reinstating the three-day model of celebrations, the municipality aims to “resume a long tradition in which the festivities were held on the streets without any interruption.
“On the other hand, the idea is also to enable visitors to enjoy other festivities that happen in the municipality, namely Quarteira and Alte, without clashing with the calendar of the Loulé Carnival”.
Among the themes and characters to be parodied on the floats in this year’s Loulé carnival parade are Cristiano Ronaldo and his Golden Balls; Donald Trump and his Mexican Wall, Valdimir Putin hosting the 2018 World Cup, and Angela Merkel, dancing with the new Eurogroup president, Mário Centeno.
While the above-mentioned days are the three main days of the event, other low-key Carnival celebrations start throughout the city from this Friday, 9 February.
Investment in this year’s carnival is said to be in the region of €300,000.
“This is a figure that has remained stable, as a result of the re-use and recycling that we have done, for example in terms of scenography”, Carlos Carmo said.
Between 80,000 and 100,000 people are expected to visit Loulé next week for the celebrations.
Revenue from ticket sales will be split down the middle, with 50 percent going to the groups participating in the parade, and 50 percent to local charitable and welfare causes.