The Portimão Municipality in Algarve, organizer of the event, anticipates that this year’s edition will surpass the 133,000 visitors recorded in 2024, drawn by the musical concert lineup, a municipal source told Lusa.
During the six-day event, five dining spaces operated by local associations will offer regional Algarve cuisine for those less fond of grilled sardines.
Besides the gastronomy centered around the sardine, the fair will feature an entertainment program with musical concerts on three stages and dozens of exhibitors, from artisans to local producers.
The festival kicks off on August 5 with a reenactment of the sardine unloading at Gil Eanes quay, near the old fish market, a scene paying tribute to the city’s fishing heritage.
At the venue, 3,000 tickets will be distributed for a free tasting of two sardines on bread and a drink at the venue’s restaurants.
The “Festival Dish” (five grilled sardines, bread, boiled potatoes, and Algarve-style salad, without drinks) is priced at a fixed rate of 11 euros.
Outside the official venue, grilled sardines can be enjoyed at six partner restaurants along Portimão’s riverside area.
The extensive musical lineup includes concerts by Rui Veloso on the opening day (August 5), Pedro Abrunhosa (6th), Diogo Piçarra (7th), Nena (8th), and Para Sempre Marco (9th).
Resistência, one of the most iconic bands of Portuguese music from the first half of the 1990s, will close the 29th edition of the Portimão Sardine Festival.
The fish provided at the festival is purchased by the municipality, caught off the Algarve coast, and stored in a refrigerated vehicle at positive two degrees Celsius with salt water to ensure quality and freshness, kept near the venue.
The event first debuted in 1985, initially named “Festival da Sardinha e do Mar,” in a small area adjacent to the Portimão Port Authority.
Lacking adequate conditions, the event was suspended in 1991 and resumed only ten years later at the city’s Exhibition Park.
Sardines have historically played a significant role in Portimão, a municipality where decades ago there were approximately 850 artisanal fishing boats and nearly 30 operating canning factories.
