The high point of the festivities, around twenty districts of the Portuguese capital will once again compete in a competition of dancing processions which will parade until late at night on the very central avenue de la Liberté.
“The whole of Lisbon was waiting for this! We can’t wait to take to the streets,” Vanessa Rocha, choreographer of the fifty or so participants in the procession from the Alfama district, told AFP.
Another rediscovered tradition, 16 couples will marry in a collective wedding at Lisbon Cathedral on Monday, Saint Anthony’s Day, in honor of this “holy matchmaker” and unofficial patron of the city.
And, like every year before the Covid-19 pandemic, each neighborhood organizes festivities throughout the month of June, which are usually attended by around one million people.
“This is the highlight of Lisbon and our most beautiful business card”, underlines Diogo Moura, deputy mayor in charge of Culture.
These celebrations will be held without any health restrictions, the authorities only recommending the wearing of masks in large gatherings.
Portugal, which ended indoor mask-wearing at the end of April, has since seen an upsurge in the number of new Covid cases caused by the Omicron BA-5 variant.
The country, which currently has the second highest incidence rate in the world, after Taiwan, has however recorded “a reversal of the increasing trend observed in recent weeks”, the General Directorate of Health reported in its latest weekly report published. Friday.
