Flower Festival
Floral species originating in many parts of the world bloom in Madeira, as the island meets specific climatic conditions that allow species from both tropical and cold regions to flourish.
The Flower Festival is a tribute to spring, and the celebration of metamorphosis and rebirth, fertility and the abundance of the flowers that colour, perfume and inebriate the surrounding environment and that give value and take the good name of this tourist destination across borders. Find out more about what to expect from the Madeira Flower Festival, which will take place between the 19th of April and the 13th of May:
Saturday
On Saturday morning the Children's Parade takes place, in which hundreds of children, dressed for the occasion, parade to Praça do Município to build a beautiful flower mural symbolically named “Wall of Hope”.
This initiative, which has been held for over three decades, combines childhood innocence and the delicacy of flowers in a ceremony calling for peace in the world. Each child takes a flower and the ceremony usually culminates with a release of doves and a children's show.
Friday to Sunday
On Sunday afternoon, the streets of Funchal city centre are once again filled with music, colour and soft aromas, with the sumptuous float parade, which harmoniously combines numerous floral species with blooming decorations full of creativity. The Flower Festival Float Parade, held since 1979, is one of the most striking and eagerly anticipated events of the entire festival, for tourists and residents alike. This event is known for the magnificence and splendour of the floats and costumes of the hundreds of participants, mostly children, richly adorned with numerous, varied and magnificent floral species, parading along a planned route to the sound of festive musical themes and performing both simple and elaborate choreographies.
The Flower Festival is also a cultural event. Tradition is particularly associated with the event, whether through the performances of folk groups, or through the construction of the beautiful floral carpets. At the same time, homage is paid to flowers at the magnificent Flower Exhibition and the city is animated with music concerts and variety shows.
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Atlantic Festival
The Madeira Atlantic Festival, an event that sets the beginning of the summer season in Madeira, is one of the most recent tourist entertainment events.
This event consists of a diverse set of initiatives spread throughout the month of June, with emphasis on the pyromusical shows; the Atlantic Roots Festival and the Regional Arts Week.
Saturdays
The pyromusical shows are held on four consecutive Saturdays of the month of June, at 10:30 p.m. at the pier outside Pontinha. These wonderful and exciting performances, lasting about 20 minutes each, combine fireworks and music in a unique experience for tourists and residents, to be held on June 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th.
In these shows, companies will compete for a trophy awarded by public vote, through the Internet and boxes located in strategic places in Funchal city (City Pier – day of the show, La Vie, Marina Shopping, Av. Arriaga Tourism Office).
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Madeira Wine Festival
The Madeira Wine Festival is one of the island´s main tourist attractions that pays tribute to this precious nectar and its undeniable socioeconomic significance.
Taking place during the grape harvest in late August, early September, this event aims to recreate the old traditions of Madeira, which were developed over centuries of labour in viticulture.
This event has been commemorated since the late seventies of the last century. It begins in Funchal and includes European Folklore Week, ornamentations, exhibitions and live portraits depicting wine and its crafts and light and traditional music performances, between August 26th and September 9th.
This Festival culminates in Estreito de Câmara de Lobos, with the Wine Harvest Festival.
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Christhmas and New Year's Eve Festivities
The arrival of the decorative lights in the streets of the city centre of Funchal, during the month of December, sets the beginning of the Madeira Christmas and End of the Year Festivities programme, taking place between December 1st, 2018 to January 6th, 2019.
These festivities culminate with the famous fireworks show, officially recognised in 2006 by the Guinness Book of Records, as the largest fireworks show in the world.
These commemorations consist of a rich and extensive programme of cultural, religious, ethnographic and artistic manifestations that take place throughout the entire month of December, an event that culminates on January,8th..
Find out more about what to expect from Christmas and New Year Festivities in Madeira:
December 23rd
Market Night is held on December 23rd, when Madeirans do their last-minute Christmas shopping and it is in this hustle and bustle that the spirit of the “Festivity” can best be felt, the nickname given by the Madeirans to identify Christmas. The inhabitants move towards the Farmers' Market where the surrounding streets, which are closed to traffic, are occupied by various points of sale opened throughout the night. They have varied local products such as flowers, shrubs, fruits, vegetables, sweets, wine-and-garlic meat sandwiches and typical drinks, such as poncha.
At nightfall the biggest attraction of the day begins, a traditional Christmas carols show, where locals take on the role of true artists. Also the participation of music bands and folklore groups helps to maintain the atmosphere of celebration and fun until dawn.
December 28th
Organised by the Madeira Athletics Association, the Funchal Road Race is one of the oldest sports events of its kind in Portugal and Europe. This race that has attracted innumerable national and international athletes to the island, brings lots of adrenaline and excitement to the Madeiran capital.
December 31st
The fireworks show lasts for about eight minutes and is distributed by several fireworks stations in the Funchal amphitheatre, the waterfront, the city centre, the sea and one station on Porto Santo Island.
This grand spectacle that is one of Madeira’s most important tourist events, was internationally recognised in 2006 by the Guinness Book of Records as "The largest fireworks show in the World".
January 5th
On the evening of January 5th to 6th the Twelfth Night songs are sung in the neighbours’ houses, a little throughout the region. It is this spirit that seeks to recreate the popular tradition of the Madeiran traditional songs that were made on this day, door to door, in various localities of the ARM, which the Association of the Casas do Povo of the Autonomous Region of Madeira organises and produces in the Auditorium of the Municipal Garden of Funchal, the musical show “Cantar os Reis” ( The Twelfh nights songs).
