"Noites do Palácio" outdoor concerts take music performances to the next level and this weekend is your last chance to experience it

When temperatures rise and the weekend looks promising, what better place to go to in the evening than the "Noites do Palácio" event, in the Gardens of the Palácio de Cristal, in Porto? Blind Zero and Rui Veloso take to the stage, on 21st and 22nd August, respectively, at 9pm. 

With cities unable to host indoor events to full capacity there are other ways of organising cultural and entertainment activities; as such, the Municipality of Porto, via the municipal company Ágora- Cultura e Desporto, jointly with two major national producer companies: PEV Entertainment and Everything is New, came up with a pandemic-friendly solution: outdoor concerts in the lovely gardens of Palácio de Cristal, just outside the Super Bock Arena- Pavilhão Rosa Mota, which had been a Field Hospital to fight Covid-19, not so long ago. 

The Palácio de Cristal landscape hosts the "Noites do Palácio" initiative every Friday and Saturday, beginning on 31st July and 1st August. This weekend will bring the last two performances of this initiative, with Blind Zero and Rui Veloso taking to the stage on 21st August and 22nd August, respectively.

The audience can, therefore, experience live shows in a safely manner whilst enjoying all the cultural, emotional and positive impact music has in our lives, celebrating summer every Friday and Saturday, always at 9pm, to the tune of the most reputed musicians in the Portuguese scene.

There are still tickets available for the Friday performance. Tickets can be purchased online and cost 10 euros.

The full programme included António Zambujo, on 31st July, The Black Mamba, on 1st August, HMB, on 7th August, Gisela João, on 8th August, Jorge Palma, on 14th August, Diogo Piçarra, on 15th August, and it will conclude this weekend with Blind Zero, on 21st August and Rui Veloso, on 22nd August, which will go on stage set at the Praça do Rossio, in front of Super Bock Arena - Pavilhão Rosa Mota and with a capacity for 650 seats.

Each show is prepared to guarantee that pandemic control measures are in place, in line with the guidelines by the General Directorate for Health. As such, each seating position is marked, social distancing is mandatory between people from different households, and all entry and exit points are duly signalled.

"This means the resuming of our activity in the entertainment area and the first big event organised in the city in the post-lockdown", as emphasised by Mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira during the official event presentation.

The event "Noites do Palácio"["Evenings in the Palace", free translation], includes a municipal investment of 200 thousand euros to cope with expenses related to "safety plans, technical means and logistics and the signing of artists", as Mayor Rui Moreira explained on occasion of the event's official presentation.

Rui Moreira also furthered that "we have given up waiting for any kind of support by the Ministry of Culture, as promised, which was swift to announce its intention to provide active support to Municipalities in the organisation of musical shows, but too slow to explain the rules to access this so called support line worth 30 million euros".