Lisbon Awaits - Week of August 26, 2024

⭐️ Main Events

Sabura Festival

📅 From now to 30 Aug - 31 Aug 2024

📍Sesimbra Natura Park | Estrada Nacional 378, Km 13, 92970-649 | Sesimbra

💶 From €27

Music and art closely intertwined with nature are the hallmarks of the Sabura Festival (sabura is a Creole word from Cape Verde and Guinea–Bissau referring to a moment or activity that gives pleasure).

Driven by sounds and rhythms with the most diverse styles and origins, the festival represents a communion between peoples and cultures, a celebration of life, happiness, and freedom.

With 6 stages and more than 100 artists, the concerts and performances evoke rhythms from Funaná to Reggae, from Hip–Hop to Kuduro and Cumbia, as well as a plethora of Portuguese music.

Alongside the shows are a craft fair, food options, and activities such as workshops, yoga, capoeira, kayaking, and treetop adventure courses.

🎥 Cinema and Film

Cine Society ‘24

📅 From now to 14 Oct 2024

📍Doca da Marinha | Terreiro do Paço

💶 From €13.90

The open-air cinema will be at Doca da Marinha.

Beside the Tejo river, the nights are meant to be enjoyed while watching or re-watching movies like Notting Hill, Romeo and Juliet, Mamma Mia, Bohemian Rhapsody, or (500) Days of Summer, not to mention Top Gun: Maverick and Footloose.

The menu also includes more recent films that have left their mark on cinema such as The Wolf of Wall Street, La La Land, A Star Is Born, and Barbie.

Cinema no Verão (Cinema in Summer)

📅 From 2 Aug to 31 Aug 2024 (9PM)

📍Cineteatro Capitólio - Teatro Raúl Solnado

💶 Free

The terrace of Capitólio becomes a cinema room with the Cinema no Verão (Cinema in Summer) program, an event of the Santo António Parish.

The program is varied with films for the whole family. Those in the capital during the usual month of vacation can always relax in an open-air cinema session, in this symbolic and historic space in Lisboa.

🎭 Theater, Opera and Dance

Operafest Lisboa ‘24

The 5th edition of Operafest Lisboa, themed "Basic Instinct," kicks off with two of the most beloved Italian verismo operas: "Cavalleria Rusticana" and "Pagliacci." These performances will take place in the stunning Gardens of Palácio Marquês de Pombal in Oeiras!

Operafest 2024 Lisboa & Oeiras, led by soprano Catarina Molder and produced by Ópera do Castelo, returns with an innovative blend of tradition and avant-garde. This year's festival expands to new, exciting venues, promising captivating opera for all and doubling its audience!

For the first time, Operafest Lisboa 2024 extends its reach to Oeiras!

The 5th edition centered around the theme "Basic Instinct," launches in the magnificent Gardens of Palácio Marquês de Pombal in Oeiras. This dreamlike setting, just outside Lisbon, will host two masterpieces of Italian verismo: Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana" and Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci."

Following these performances, younger audiences can enjoy Isabelle Aboulker's operatic tale "Little Thumb."

The festival then moves to its new Lisbon epicenter, the open-air Amphitheatre of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, for a production of Mozart's "Don Giovanni."

In celebration of the 500th anniversary of Luís Vaz de Camões, one of the greatest poets of all time and father of the Portuguese language, the Lisbon Triennale will host the world premiere of "Torment," a cantata performance based on Canto V of the epic poem "The Lusiads."

But there's even more in store: Cine-Opera, conferences, debates, workshops, and a unique operatic rave at Titanic sur Mer.

Join us for an unforgettable celebration of opera in Lisboa and Oeiras!

Airotic Soirée: A burlesque circus cabaret

📅 From 26 Jul to 28 Sep 2024

📍Spaço Laboratório, Av. Infante Dom Henrique, 336A

💶 From €45

Airotic Soirée: A burlesque circus cabaret

This immersive circus-style burlesque show can be experienced for a limited time only in Lisboa.

After shows in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami, the AirOtic group presents Airotic Soirée: A burlesque circus cabaret.

With extravagant costumes, seductive choreography, and jaw-dropping acrobatic performances, every moment is brimming with sensuality, magic, and glamour.

Cocktails are served before and after the show, and there's also a chance to meet the cast afterward.

From The Oceans To The Stars

From The Oceans To The Stars is a gastronomic show that revisits and celebrates Portuguese history based on Portuguese cuisine and recipes, from the country’s origins to its maritime conquests that changed the course of world history.

The event takes place in a technologically advanced environment and includes a complete culinary experience, with staff in period costumes, featuring traditional dishes and fado performances at intervals.

From Wednesday to Sunday • 4:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. • Thursdays • 8:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. • Restaurante Estação Menina Bonita (train) Sintra and Azambuja line, Braço de Prata station • (bus) 31B, 718, 781 • admission: 49.90€, general • estacaomeninabonita.com 

🎉 Festivals

MEO Kalorama

📅 From 29 Aug - 31 Aug 2024

📍Parque da Bela Vista | Marvila | 1950-000 | Lisboa

💶 From €65

MEO Kalorama returns to Parque da Bela Vista to mark the end of summer.

The last hot–weather festival features various new additions, including personalities from the world of music and dance.

This year the lineup also includes a number of LGBTQ+ performers.

Sam Smith, LCD Soundsystem, Olivia Dean, Ana Moura, Cláudia Pascoal, Jungle, Filipe Catto, Luiza Lian, and Moonchild Sanelly are some of the names who will take to the stage.

The festival also has a more environmentally friendly flavor, since the last edition managed to reduce the amount of plastic used by 40% compared with the first year it took place, and this summer the organization is working to reduce dust by laying irrigation–free turf that needs very little water.

Festas do Mar 2024

📅 From 22 August - 01 Sept 2024

📍Baía de Cascais

💶 Free

The summer festival closest to the Atlantic is back with its two-part model, allowing Cascais residents to enjoy the best of Portuguese music for free.

From August 22 to 25 and August 29 to September 1, celebrate Portuguese music in Cascais with two stages – the main stage in the Bay, and the "Sagres" stage near the Citadel. The main stage will feature artists such as Rui Veloso, Bárbara Bandeira, Fernando Daniel, António Zambujo, and Bárbara Tinoco, among others. As tradition dictates, the last day will showcase the Cascais Symphony Orchestra performing the 40 years of Oceano Pacífico.

The Sagres stage, known for promoting Portuguese-language music and bringing together established names with new talents and local artists, will feature performers like Sara Megre, Du Nothin, Mariana Lopes, and Diogo Oliveira, among others.

The Procession honoring Our Lady of Navigators, one of the festival's highlights, will take place on September 1. To close the event in grand style, we'll once again have an incredible fireworks display.

In addition to musical performances, the summer festival offers a special program for children. "Children's Moments" will take place from Thursday to Saturday at 6:30 PM in Cascais Bay. Ruca, Heidi Maya the Bee, and Pocoyo are some of the shows prepared for the little ones to enjoy.

All Viver Cascais users can enjoy their favorite concerts in the Exclusive Viver Cascais Area, next to the main stage. To access this area, you just need an active Viver Cascais profile to collect the wristband that grants you access to this space. To enjoy this benefit, simply go to the designated kiosk in the Citadel from 2 PM to 8 PM (may close earlier if wristbands run out), prove that you have an active profile, and collect your access wristband for the Exclusive Viver Cascais Area. Wristbands are limited to the number of available spots and are only for the main stage. Each Viver Cascais beneficiary can only collect two wristbands for each concert day.

Free Admission

NOTICE: Traffic will be closed between Visconde da Luz Garden Roundabout and João Paulo II Roundabout from August 21 until 12 PM on September 2.

🎶 Music and Concerts

Fado in Amalia’s Garden

📅 From now through September 2024

📍Atelier-Museu Júlio Pomar | Rua do Vale, 7

💶 €25 - Saturday | €20 - Tuesday and Thursday

From March 19, intimate concerts are returning to the garden of Casa-Museu Amália Rodrigues. With a cast currently composed of fado singers, Célia Leiria and Ana Paulo, Pedro Amendoeira on Portuguese guitar, and Pedro Soares on fado guitar, the sessions take place in the garden of nº 193 Rua de S. Bento and honor the richness of the repertoire that Amália Rodrigues immortalized – from fado to popular marches, without leaving aside traditional songs.

The concerts take place on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and can be preceded by a guided tour of the house where Amália Rodrigues lived for 44 years, with prior reservation required, as the experience is not included in the price of the concert ticket.

Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays
August: 6 PM

🏛️ Exhibitions

Spam Cartoon | Guerilla Animation

📅 From 17 May to 08 Sept 2024

📍Museu Bordalo Pinheiro | Campo Grande 382 - 1700-097 Lisboa

💶 From €2

The drawings of André Carrilho, Cristina Sampaio, João Fazenda, and Tiago Albuquerque for the RTP program Spam Cartoon, which provides commentary on current issues, controversies, and major political figures through the medium of cartoons, are on display.

Aiming to provide a constant reflection on the world around us, the TV program birthed an audiovisual cartoon, helping Portugal ensure that political power is challenged by humorous, topical cartoons every week by giving cartoonists the freedom to do so on the state’s own TV channel.

Júlio Pomar - Revolutions. 1960-1970

📅 From 11 July to 24 Nov, 2024

📍Atelier-Museu Júlio Pomar | Rua do Vale, 7

💶 €2

The 1960s and 1970s were times of significant change in the work and life of Júlio Pomar. He moved from Lisbon to Paris and, following his renowned Tauromaquias series, he explored new themes in his paintings. In these works, he examined the formal representation of movement, speed, and tension. During this period, he held a series of successful exhibitions in both cities and participated in prominent international exhibitions, including at the Louvre Museum in 1971.

Júlio Pomar closely followed the rapid evolution of the avant-garde movements of the time. Despite being sensitive to the artistic ruptures of the time, he did not align himself with any specific groups or schools. Instead, he embarked on a personal journey of questioning and experimenting with his art. In 1966, he destroyed dozens of completed and unfinished paintings.

The changes in Pomar’s work paralleled the revolutions of the era, including the May 1968 protests in Paris and the April Revolution in Lisbon. He also engaged with other protest movements and shifts in societal behavior.

This exhibition delves into this period of exploration and reorientation in Pomar’s career, showcasing numerous works that have not been exhibited for a long time.

Tuesday to Sunday - 10 am to 1 pm | 2 pm to 6 pm

🌞 Weather in August: Lisbon's Sunny Peak

Average High: 29°C / 84°F
Average Low: 19°C / 66°F
Average Rainfall: 6 millimeters / 0.24 inches

August in Lisbon marks the peak of summer, with temperatures reaching their annual zenith. The city basks in warm sunshine, with average highs of 29°C (84°F) creating perfect conditions for outdoor activities and beach days. Evenings remain balmy, with lows around 19°C (66°F), ideal for enjoying Lisbon's vibrant nightlife and outdoor dining scenes.

Rainfall is virtually non-existent during this month, with an average of just 6mm, ensuring almost guaranteed sunny days throughout your visit. The clear, blue skies provide a stunning backdrop for exploring Lisbon's colorful streets, historic monuments, and scenic viewpoints.

Light, breathable clothing is essential to stay comfortable in the August heat. Be sure to pack plenty of sunscreen, a hat, and sunglasses to protect yourself from the intense sun. Comfortable walking shoes are crucial for navigating Lisbon's hilly terrain and charming cobblestone streets.

The warm evenings are perfect for enjoying outdoor concerts, rooftop bars, or simply strolling along the Tagus River. With its combination of urban charm and nearby beaches, August in Lisbon offers the quintessential Mediterranean summer experience.

Remember to stay hydrated and seek shade during the hottest parts of the day. Whether you're lounging on the golden sands of Cascais, exploring the narrow alleys of Alfama, or enjoying a refreshing cocktail with a view, August in Lisbon promises sun-soaked days and unforgettable summer nights.

➡️ Upcoming

Red Bull Flugtag Lisboa (7 Sept 2024)