UNESCO-recognised tradition returns 11 years after last edition, with more than half a million visitors expected
Campo Maior’s Festas do Povo were presented at BTL — Better Tourism Lisbon Travel Market, marking the official promotion of the celebrations scheduled to take place from 8 to 16 August.
During the presentation, representatives of the Alentejo village brought traditional music, costumes and symbolic elements to what is Portugal’s largest tourism fair, highlighting the cultural identity of a celebration widely regarded as one of the country’s most distinctive popular festivities.
The Festas do Povo are known for transforming dozens of streets — particularly in the historic centre — into large-scale artistic displays covered with thousands of handmade paper flowers. The decorations are created voluntarily by local residents over several months, in a collective effort passed down informally from generation to generation.
The 2026 edition marks the return of the celebrations 11 years after the last edition, held in 2015. Organisers expect the event to attract more than half a million visitors to Campo Maior.
On 15 December 2021, the Festas do Povo of Campo Maior were inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, reinforcing their national and international recognition as a living expression of community-based tradition in the Alentejo region of Portugal.
