Carnival: event has already been canceled in at least six cities Portugal
For the second year in a row, six traditional Carnival parties in Portugal will not be held. Pandemics organized entities and entities decided the festivities because of the Covid-19 City Hall. The survey was carried out by now europe. In the Portuguese country, activities this year are scheduled to start between February 26 and March 2.
In Lou, Lisbon Metropolitan Area, the authorities will decide not to hold the party this year. Known as “Carnaval Saloio”, the festivities are officially represented by 1.2 million and 15 floats from various associations and community organizations.
In southern Portugal, the traditional Carnival of Loulé, which involves parades, floats and costumed participants, has also been cancelled. According to the City Hall, the reason for the cancellation is the pandemic, which prevents “timely (anticipated) planning of the schedule”.
In the north of the country, the Carnival of Ovar, about 285km from the Portuguese capital, the festivities were also cancelled. According to a statement on the official page of the party, “Carnival is the big party in Ovar, but public health comes first”.
In the city, the carnival festivities date back to 1880, according to historical records. The tradition is to carry out parades in the streets with the participation of samba schools.
Still in the north of the country, the municipality of Arcos de Valdevez also canceled the event. According to Associação Folia, responsible for the festivities, both the street dances and the carnival procession are cancelled.
The statement, which points out that the city’s carnival “is the largest in the North of Portugal”, emphasizes that the decision “is the right one”. The reason, like the other cities that canceled the parties, is the current context of the pandemic.
In Torres, the 50th week, the city hall announced, this week, the holding of the party “continues to be viable in Lisbon, km possible, in the pandemic in which Lisbon can be sustainable”. The street parades with people notably take place since 1923. The party is considered one of the oldest in Portugal.
In Figuei, small with few wines, with just over 3,000 inhabitants in the North region, the same decision to cancel the party, which usually gives rise to a municipality a show with “large number of people” and that could “provoke an uncontrolled municipality” of the virus infection in the county [município]”. According to the statement from the municipal authorities, the decision is based on the evolution of the pandemic in the country.
Sines keeps party
In Sines, 150km from the Portuguese capital, a party continues. On the event’s website, there is a countdown to the start of the party, which starts on February 26th. According to the organizers, in the edition, held in 2020, more than 50 thousand people participated.
The organizers of the Mealhada Carnival have not yet officially announced whether the event will be canceled or cancelled. On the party’s page, which is entitled “Portuguese-Brazilian”, the schedule is kept for the end of February, with the theme “the show must go on”.
In Lisbon, there is no central organizer of the so-called street carnivals. Before the pandemic, however, groups, especially immigrants, promoted street parties in different parts of the Portuguese capital. This year, due to the pandemic, it is still not possible to say whether the meetings take place in the city.
In Portugal, the legislation defines a data as an optional holiday. It is up to the country’s government and municipal authorities to decree the date as a holiday. In 2021, a proposed law to make Carnival an official holiday across the country was rejected by a majority in parliament.