Friday Briefing: We have a winner!
Good morning and welcome to PORTUGAL DECODED, where we're thrilled to announce the winner of the 2024 Schools Writing Competition. Read the winning text, meet the jury and more.
TALK OF THE TOWN
POLITICS
The Portuguese head to the polls on Sunday to pick their representatives in the European Parliament. The polls suggest another tight race between the ruling AD and the socialist PS (More).
President Marcelo’s approval rating has plummeted to its lowest level ever. To make matters worse, yesterday, the Judiciary Police carried out searches in connection with the case of the Brazilian twins treated in Portugal (More).
SOCIETY
A migration reshuffle has come into force, including, among other measures, a new Golden visa and an end to the regime that allowed non-EU migrants to enter Portugal and only then to apply for a residence permit (More).
The patriarch of Portugal’s oldest banking dynasty, formerly known as the “Owner of All This” (as in “Portugal”), was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison for corrupting former a Minister of the Economy, sentenced to 10 years in jail (More).
ECONOMICS
After a two-month slowdown, the inflation rate in Portugal rose from 2.2% in April to 3.1% in May. The country recorded the third highest rate in the eurozone this month (More).
22.2% of companies based in Portugal employ foreign workers, according to the Bank of Portugal. This is a significant increase from the 7.9% share in 2014 (More).
CULTURE AND SPORTS
The celebrations of Luís de Camões’ 500th anniversary will kick-off on June 10 in Coimbra. However, there’s no program, nor budget for it. The Minister of Culture blamed the previous Government for the delay (More).
Portugal’s male football team beat Finland 4-2 in a first warm-up match for Euro2024. With Cristiano Ronaldo rested, Ruben Dias, Diogo Jota and Bruno Fernandes secured the win (More).
IN FOCUS
Meet the Winner and the Winning Text
What makes Portugal special?
To me, Portugal is a place of joy, happiness, a place of kindness, and a place of saúde (which means welcoming, healing, and a long life in Portuguese). From its rich history and natural beauty to the people and welcoming culture, Portugal is truly a special place.
My name is Victoria. I am 12 years old, and I attend the British School of Lisbon. Portugal has a special place in my heart. I first moved here in 2020 from the UK, in the middle of the pandemic, and I felt an immediate connection with the beautiful country; the warmth and goodwill of the people changed the way I think about the planet and always made me remember that there is kindness always in our spectacular world. When you read this, I hope you feel like I do about our united country.
Continue reading here.
Meet the Jury
Bethan Twigg
Age: 37 years old
Day job: Civil servant - education
Favourite place in Portugal: Lisbon
Favourite Portuguese word: Abacaxi
What I'd like to share with PORTUGAL DECODED readers: I’ve just returned from a wonderful holiday in Southern Portugal with some family and friends. Having a one year old means I don’t read as much as I’d like to, so I am very happy that I managed to catch up with some reading (as I’m in two book clubs!).
Petros Chasanakos
Age: 48 years old
Day Job: Parliamentary Capability Officer. (I train British civil servants on UK Parliament procedure. It’s great fun. If you’re a geek.)
Favourite place in Portugal: My mother-in-law’s home in Lisbon. Belém. And the massive Auchan super market in the Allegro shopping centre in Alfragide (I love giant super markets - they are actually full of stories if you think about it).
Favourite Portuguese word: Acolá! (I know nobody actually says it, but my wife laughs every time I do).
What I’d like to share with PORTUGAL DECODED readers: For a Greek, Portugal feels like some sort of parallel universe: similar climates, population sizes, economic development, drinking culture, getting rid of dictatorships in the mid-70s… But of course it’s also very different, in many interesting ways. If you get a chance, visit Greece and see what these might be for you.
Carolina Seybert
Age: 42
Day Job: Psychologist & Researcher
Favourite place in Portugal: Alentejo
Favourite Portuguese word: Castiça
What I’d like to share with PORTUGAL DECODED readers: Cherish knowledge about portuguese culture
Meet the Prize Maker
Pedro Resende
Age: 43
Day Job: Owner of Abaeté woodwork (+351 926 609 114)
Favourite place in Portugal: Guincho
Favourite Portuguese word: Papibaquígrafo
What I’d like to share with PORTUGAL DECODED readers: Spread love
TIPS OF THE WEEK
Lisbon
Visions of the Far East
The Visions of the Far East cycle, running until June 10, displays a set of films done in and around this side of the world. The cycle is divided into two sections: Visões do Interior (“Visions from the Inside”), which includes films by Japanese, Chinese and Korean filmmakers, and Visões do Exterior (“Visions from the Outside”), which reveals the perspective of the Far East by directors from other continents. Highlights include The Handmaiden, by the Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, Shanghai Express, by Josef von Sternberg, a 1932 work, starring Marlene Dietrich, and M. Butterfly, by David Cronenberg, based on the play of the same name, by David Henry Hwang. Full program here.
Porto
Nos Primavera Sound
Lana del Rey, SZA, Pulp, Mitski, The National, PJ Harvey and Justice lead the lineup for of the 11th edition of the NOS Primavera Sound festival in Porto, which takes place on June 6-8, at Parque da Cidade. The general pass for the festival costs 175 euros (plus taxes), and daily tickets are on sale for 75 euros (plus taxes), except for 7 June (Lana del Rey as headliner), which is sold out. Full information here.
Sintra
Sintra Festival 2024
Monserrate Palace, Sintra National Palace, Colares Parish Church, Colares Regional Winery, Olga Cadaval Cultural Centre, Santa Maria Church, Seteais Palace Hotel, Sintra National Palace and Quinta da Regaleira are some of the iconic places in Sintra that will host this Festival, taking place on June 13-23. This classical music festival, the oldest of the kind in Portugal, distinguishes itself also for the original formats, which this year will include the popular “concert walks”, sunrise concerts, duelling piano concerts, a concert in the dark and another at midnight with a full moon. Full details here.
Figueiró dos Vinhos, Castanheira de Pera, Pedrógão Grande and Coimbra
Oficial celebrations of Portugal Day
This year’s official celebrations in Portugal will take place in Figueiró dos Vinhos, Pedrógão Grande, Castanheira de Pera, and Coimbra. They begin on June 9, at the Memorial to the Victims of the 2017 Forest Fires, with a Raising of the Flag Ceremony, followed by a Tribute and a Mass dedicated to the Victims of the fires. The first day of the commemorations will end with a concert and multimedia show at Praia das Rocas, in Castanheira de Pera. On June 10, there will be a military parade in Pedrógão Grande, in which more than 1,300 military personnel from the three branches of the Armed Forces will take part. Afterwards, the President and the Prime Minister will leave for the University of Coimbra to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Camões. The day will end with a musical show at the Páteo das Escolas.
Fundão
Cherry Festival
The Cherry Festival takes place this weekend in the village of Alcongosta. In addition to many opportunities to taste the Fundão cherries - said to be the best in Portugal - the programme offers a tourist train ride through the cherry groves, a menu dedicated to cherries to taste in the orchard, and a relaxing massage in the open air with Cluster Senses (Tel. 96074381). Turismo do Fundão also offers personalised picnic baskets and a chance to be the lucky godparent of a cherry tree with the right to receive 2kg of cherries until the cherry tree bears fruit. The celebrations also include the Fundão Cherry Gastronomic Route (June 17 to July 2); the Cherry Trail, on June 10, in the Gardunha mountains, and Fundão Cherry Week in Cascais, June 17-23.