Day of Portugal to be specially marked this year

The Day of Portugal (June 10), formally known as the Day of Portugal, of Camões and the Portuguese Communities, will be celebrated in Macau this year “in a special manner” according to the Consul-General of Portugal in Macau and Hong Kong, Alexandre Leitão, on behalf of the celebrations’ organizing committee.

Leitão noted that this is the ninth year of festivities since the decision to extend the celebration of the Day of Portugal into the full month of June. Since then it has been named June, the Month of Portugal.

According to Leitão, this year’s edition is “particularly symbolic, as it marks several important dates for the Portuguese Republic.”

The year also marks the five-hundredth birthday of the poet Luís Vaz de Camões, who gives his name to National Day, and the 50th anniversary of the Portuguese revolution has also recently been celebrated. This year was also the 25 years of the Macau handover and the forty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Portugal and China.

This year’s program includes an array of activities catering to all age groups and multiple interests, with contributions from the five entities that are part of the organizing committee and over 20 other associations and institutional partners in Macau, Hong Kong, and Portugal.

The Portuguese consul-general also noted that, for the first time, the event includes a project organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau.

Besides the common activities of June 10 with the visit to the Camões Grotto in the Camões Garden and the reception at the official residence of the Consul-General, the program includes a total of 28 other activities, including 10 exhibitions, film screenings, a concert, book presentations, seminars, theatre and gastronomy festivals, among others.

European elections, balloting over the weekend

Portugal is electing its representatives for the European Parliament.

The election takes place from 6 June to 9 June and those of Portuguese citizenship can exercise their voting rights over the weekend at the Consulate-General of Portugal in Macau and Hong Kong.

On June 8 (Saturday) and 9 (Sunday), balloting stations will be available for voting between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., the Consulate-General announced.

No matter where they may be registered, voters can vote on any diplomatic delegation abroad or any other polling station in Portugal.

To vote, citizens only need to present their Portuguese Identity Card.

Portugal will elect a total of 21 representatives for the European Parliament, the same number as in the 2019 elections.