“We arrived at the City Hall on Monday and there was no competitive process prepared for either Christmas or New Year’s. The services were very concerned,” stated João Azevedo to journalists today, following the first meeting of the executive after taking office last Friday.
The mayor assured that he will do everything to ensure Viseu has “a dignified Christmas, respecting the people of Viseu and the Christmas season,” and that he is “quickly trying to resolve the matter within all the legal constraints.”
Last year, the Christmas and New Year programming, which covered the period from November 29 to January 6, was presented on November 14.
A sum of 120,000 euros was invested to illuminate the streets, squares, and gardens of Viseu with 380,000 lights, and the New Year’s Eve was celebrated with a concert by Portuguese rapper Plutónio, followed by a 15-minute musical fireworks display and DJ The Boss’s entertainment.
João Azevedo told journalists that upon arriving at the City Hall, he found “no programming, no lighting, no New Year, nothing.”
According to the socialist, “the services were very concerned, the technicians were very concerned, because they did not have the green light to proceed.”
“In the City Hall’s budget (approved at the end of last year), an amount was allocated. It was budgeted, but what is certain is that there was no green light to proceed with the public tender,” he explained.
Now, João Azevedo promises to “fight against time” to have “a Christmas that honors the people of Viseu, tourists, entrepreneurs, the Christmas spirit, and everything it represents for children and families.”
“We are limited. We will not engage in any illegal or irresponsible act to accomplish something that was the administration’s responsibility. Because there was a political change, it did not stop. There is a great responsibility towards more than one hundred thousand people,” he emphasized.
