Sun and heat on the first day of Loulé Carnival 2024

After a rainy Sunday that forced the organizers of the Loulé Carnival to cancel the first day of the parade, the parade finally took to the streets this Monday, with lots of sun and a mild temperature for this time of year which helped the party.

In the early afternoon, many revellers arrived at Avenida José da Costa Mealha and, at 3 pm, when the speaker announced the start of the parade, a very significant human frame brought to the venue the joy and colour that so well characterizes the oldest parade in the country.

Between the unstoppable rhythm of great hits of Brazilian music brought by the resident DJ, André Salgueiro, to the samba beat of the drums that accompanied some of the groups, dancing was a constant on this opening day, not only among the 600 extras but also the public who didn’t miss the opportunity to do a little dancing. At the same time, the most curious tried to unravel the 17 SDGs – United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the theme of this edition of the parade.

In the 14 floats that make up the Corso, through the art of creatives and satire, current themes are presented, from politics to sport, as a joke because after all, “no one gets hurt at Carnival”, in which. A “Monkey” Loose in FC Porto’s “Chair of Dreams”, while Pinto da Costa and André Villas-Boas face each other for the club’s presidency, points to SDG 3 “Quality Health”. A Greta Thunberg with superpowers facing the Arab owners of the oil companies, in a car representing SDG 7 “Renewable and Affordable Energy”. An American tank commanded by Joe Biden and a Russian missile fired by Vladimir Putin from the Kremlin against Volodymyr Zelensky’s dove of peace, with a focus on SDG 16 “Peace, Justice and Effective Institutions”. And SDG 13 “Climate Action”, illustrates the car in which the president of the United Nations, António Guterres, witnesses the melting of Antarctica.

But concern for the future of the Planet and its sustainability is present in several details of the parade, from the use of recycled materials to celebrate Carnival, the placement of different containers for the disposal of waste, at various points along the Avenue, or in the questionnaire which is being carried out by several volunteers who, using a QR Code, try to find out the carbon footprint left by visitors when travelling to the corso grounds.

This is also an inclusive Carnival, which aims to bring everyone to this party. An example is the participation of Associação Existir, one of the entertainment groups that are part of the parade, and where users of this social solidarity institution can be found, for example, people in wheelchairs.

“Yesterday, Sunday, we made the right decision to cancel the parade as it rained all day. Today it was possible to have our cars in 100% condition, without any damage, and in a very good house for what is usual on Mondays, we started this edition of the Loulé Carnival in the best possible way. Tomorrow, Carnival Tuesday, we hope to have a full house as it looks like São Pedro will continue to be on our side”, assures Carlos Carmo, councillor of the Municipality of Loulé and coordinator of this event.

This Shrove Tuesday the parade starts at 3 pm.

Always confirm with the concert hall or promoter the conditions of access, confirmation of the date or time, ticket place of sale, price, and availability.

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