“We will create the Line of Vagar [central theme of Évora_27], one of the project’s goals to strengthen cultural programming, with an investment of 1.5 million euros, which we will launch in the coming weeks for this purpose,” stated the minister during a parliamentary hearing on the State Budget proposal for 2026.
Highlighting that Évora_27 is one of the “major cohesion and cultural decentralization projects,” Margarida Balseiro Lopes also mentioned that the previously announced creation of the Alentejo Regional Orchestra will receive one million euros in funding and is expected to be established next year.
Last April, the previous Minister of Culture, Dalila Rodrigues, committed to opening a competition to support the creation of the Alentejo Regional Orchestra and challenged the CEC Évora 2027 association to become a partner in the project.
Margarida Balseiro Lopes spoke in parliament during the discussion on the State Budget Proposal for 2026, at the Commission of Budget, Finance and Public Administration, alongside the Commission of Culture, Communication, Youth, and Sports.
In June, the Alentejo 2030 Program announced a call for proposals to support cultural and heritage enhancement activities, programming, and artistic creation for CEC Évora 2027, with a budget of 1.75 million euros.
The Alentejo Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR) stated that this call, which accepted applications until July 31, was exclusively for the Évora 2027 Association, the managing body of the CEC.
The Évora 2027 Association held the first contract signing ceremony in mid-September with 13 projects listed in the city’s application book to CEC, totaling 2.7 million euros.
