80 thousand revelers celebrated the return of Loulé Carnival

A return in full with all the ingredients: animation, color, rhythm, samba, sun, and an incredible human frame. Thus was the Carnival of Loulé 2023 which, in a long-awaited return, attracted around 80 thousand visitors to the carnival capital of the south of the country during 3 days of revelry.

“We are very satisfied and the balance is frankly positive. We had Avenida José da Costa Mealha full, in what was perhaps one of the best editions ever. And it’s no wonder, it was two years without a parade and we all already missed it. But, along with the entertainment component, I would like to highlight the economic factor: this was a very important moment for the local economy, with visitors enjoying both catering, commerce, hotels, and other businesses, leveraged in recent days by this event”, said Vítor Aleixo, mayor of Loulé, the entity responsible for organizing the Corso.

“Oh Zé… Have you seen Algarvensis?” was the theme that inspired the parade, also providing an opportunity to make known to the general public one of the projects in which the Municipality is currently involved: the candidacy for a UNESCO Geopark, in partnership with Albufeira and Silves. The salamander from the Triassic period, 227 million years old, a unique paleontological find in the world and which is at the genesis of this candidacy, was in great prominence at the “Sambódromo Louletano” – in the cars, in the dolls, in the costumes and in the plots created by the groups. Those who were here got to know who this Algarvensis is, after all, and what the designation as a Geopark could mean for the future of this territory.

The satire of political and social current affairs was once again one of the seasonings of the Loulé Carnival. The British tourist’s Rishi Sunak, Boris Johnson, and Theresa May, the dinosaurs Lula da Silva and Jair Bolsonoro, and the bumblebee António Costa and his bees Marta Temido, Manuel Pizarro, and Graça Freitas were some of the protagonists of the party. And even one of the targets of this satire, the current Minister of Health, made a point of highlighting, on his social networks, the quality of his puppet in the Algarve parade.

Also, the 10 entertainment groups representing the county’s associations and collectivities, the samba schools with dancers with painted bodies, and more than 600 entertainers put on the party, in constant interactivity with the public that, at certain points along the route, had the opportunity to give a little dance and parade.

A carnival parade marked by the artistic quality with which the floats were conceived, but which this year also asserted itself for being an inclusive parade since, for the first time, people with disabilities, users of the Existir Association, came to show that the Carnival is a revelry for everyone.

50% of the ticket receipts, the value of which will be determined in the coming days, will go to the associations that paraded this year, with the remaining 50% going to social causes.

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