The mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, reinforced his belief in the economic return on the investment made by the municipality in the World Youth Day.

Tiago Sousa Dias/Cofina

Carlos Moedas insists that the Chamber will invest 35 million euros in World Youth Day and that “the infrastructure” set up for this “unique and extraordinary wind” will also serve for future events”. whatever the will of the President of the Republic and of the Church”, in relation to the organization of the event, also defending the need to “do what is best”, so important for Lisbon. I am very well with my conscience. WYD events transformed societies. I want WYD to transform Lisbon”, he said.

The Coins statements come after, this afternoon, the mayor said that the event will bring “an enormous return”. “The question here is whether or not we want to be the center of the world in those days, how are we going to be, with young people from all over the world that we are going to be in this city, and the return, believe me, that will be multiplied, all this that we are going to invest, by 10 or by 20. I have no doubt that we are going to have a huge return”, he said during the afternoon, without specifying how this return will materialize.

“We are going to invest and we are going to do it with awareness of that”, reinforced the mayor, highlighting the return on investment for the city, considering that WYD is “a unique opportunity to put Lisbon on the map, in the world”.

The World Youth Day, considered the biggest event of the Catholic Church, will take place this year in Lisbon, between the 1st and 6th of August, with around 1.5 million people expected. The main ceremonies of the day take place in Parque Tejo, north of Parque das Nações, on the riverside of the Tagus, on land in the municipalities of Lisbon and Loures.

The days were born on the initiative of Pope John Paul II, after the success of the meeting promoted in 1985, in Rome, in the International Year of Youth.