Gov’t promotes tourism in Lisbon with dragon and lion dances

The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has once again traveled to Portugal to participate in the Lisbon Festivities and promote Macau as a tourist destination.

MGTO joined the popular “marchas populares” street parade on June 12, bringing a dragon and lion dance troupe to the event.

At the widely attended celebration, MGTO aimed to showcase Macau’s image as an international tourism city of multicultural coexistence, while helping expand the visitor market from Portugal and Europe.

The dragon and lion dance troupe from the Lo Leong General Sports Association opened the parade on the evening of June 12, performing traditional routines of lion and dragon dances, both recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Macau.

The performance was intended to highlight Macau’s appeal as a “tourism + culture” destination and its identity as a place of multicultural coexistence, alongside groups representing Lisbon’s various historic communities in a diverse street celebration.

The Lisbon Festivities, which last for over a month, are among Portugal’s most prominent tourism and cultural events, attracting thousands of residents and visitors each year.

With more than 90 years of history, the event is held annually on the night of June 12 to celebrate Saint Anthony’s Day and is broadcast on television throughout the Portuguese-speaking world.

Since 2012, MGTO and the Lisbon Festivities organizers have maintained an exchange and cooperation program, with both sides participating in each other’s events, including Lisbon groups taking part in Macau’s Chinese New Year Parade.

In April this year, the two parties also signed a cooperation agreement allowing local performance groups to participate in Lisbon events in 2026 and 2027. At the same time, winning groups from the Lisbon Festivities are scheduled to join the Chinese New Year Parade in Macau.