The Vodafone Paredes de Coura festival opens its 32nd edition on Wednesday at the Praia Fluvial do Taboão, the river beach that is again hosting the event. Festival director João Carvalho told Correio da Manhã that everything is ready for what he called a memorable edition.
Carvalho said he measures the festival's success by a full house, strong concerts and the happiness of festivalgoers, who he said never tire of praising the event. This year's lineup includes M.I.A., Bloc Party, Amyl and The Sniffers, Kneecap and Underworld.
Camping remains free, and Carvalho said this year's edition also offers a greater variety of cultural programming, which he said is needed to counter what he described as the cognitive sedentarism threatening audiences.
Free cinema cycle and pop-up library
New this year, the festival is running a free cinema cycle in partnership with the Porto/Post/Doc film festival. Screenings take place every day at 2pm at the Centro Cultural Paredes through Saturday, with free entry.
Also new is a library operating on the festival grounds, set up in collaboration with the Wook bookstore chain. Carvalho said organizers had improved access to the site, installed cleaner and higher-quality sanitary facilities, and expanded the rest areas, adding that the team is doing everything possible to make festivalgoers feel comfortable.
Tribute to Sérgio Godinho
Carvalho also announced, with pride, a tribute to singer-songwriter Sérgio Godinho. The performance, titled 'Sérgio & Os Assessores com Amigos', takes place on Friday, August 14, ahead of Godinho's 81st birthday.
