Five dozen festivals, events and exhibitions are scheduled, with the return of popular events such as South Music and the Açoteia Rooftop Festival.
This year, Faro’s cultural programme will be marked by the return of several events affected by the pandemic, such as South Music, Açoteia – Faro Rooftop Festival and Baixa Street Fest, announced by the municipality.
South Music returns in June, showcasing emerging young Algarvian musicians. Açoteia, in July, will once again highlight over three dozen terraces in the city centre, and Baixa Street Fest will liven up Faro’s downtown area every Friday in July and August, following its suspension in 2022.
Around five dozen festivals, events and exhibitions are scheduled for the current year, in an agenda headed by the already traditional Bikers’ Festival in July, and Festival F, in September.
The calendar of activities promoted by the municipality also includes “Bandas à Figuras”, the “Os Dias do Jazz” Festival, “Primavera Literária”, “A Bordo com… Dino d’Santiago”, “Figuras à Rampa” and the “Dance, Dance, Dance” Festival, in addition to exhibitions of works by Manuel Batista and Nadir Afonso.
Events such as the “Algarve Design Meeting”, “Mochila – Theatre Festival for Children and Young People”, “Faro Blues”, “Folkfaro”, “Mar Motto”, “BoCA – Contemporary Art Biennial”, “MOMI – International Festival of Physical Theatre”, “Algarve Music Series”, “Modernism Week” and the Algarve’s “International Organ Festival”, among others, will be promoted by the various cultural associations of the Algarve capital.
Following the elimination of Faro’s candidacy for European Capital of Culture in 2027 – won by Évora – the city’s ‘heritage’ involves maintaining its cultural brand as a differentiating factor in the municipality, backed by Faro’s 2030 Strategic Plan for Culture.
Faro mayor, Rogério Bacalhau, recalled that 2022 was “the worst year of governance due to the rise in energy costs” – increasing from two to eight million euros – which saw a reduction of investments in the area.
“For 2023, we have everything organised. We know what each entity will do, and we already have the funding secured. We have everything planned and scheduled so each event knows what funding to count on. It will be easier for everyone”, stressed the mayor.
Faro’s City Council maintains its commitment to allocate 10% of the global budget to the cultural sector, with a dual strategy that aims to consolidate what “gives the municipality notoriety” and try to create new cultural agents, stressed the mayor.
“When we talk about 10% for culture, it is in general terms. There is a budget for the [municipal] library, the [municipal] museum, and cultural facilities. For us, it’s all about culture”, added Rogério Bacalhau.
Support for cultural associations already includes more than 50 entities. “These are numbers that make us proud. When we started [in 2013] our mandates – this is the third – we had 14 supported agents or associations in the cultural area. Today we have 53. That’s four times more”, underlined the mayor.
