The fireworks show that marks New Year’s Eve in Madeira will last eight minutes and fireworks will be launched from 58 posts, spread across the amphitheater and bay of Funchal.
According to the Regional Secretariat for Tourism and Culture, the company responsible for the 2022/2023 Christmas and New Year festivities, three strategic areas were established for launching fireworks: 28 posts along the amphitheater, 25 posts in the alignment of Pier 8 for east, and five outposts at sea (three south of Pontinha and two between Pier 8 and Lazareto).
The show, whose theme is “Madeira 4.0 — From Tradition to Technological Innovation”, also extends to the island of Porto Santo, where two fireworks launching stations were placed, one at the Portela viewpoint, the other at the Vila Baleira wharf.
This year, posts were also installed in the tourist area of Funchal, specifically in the Ponta Gorda Bathing Complex, in Praia Formosa and in Jardim do Amparo, in the west of the city.
Preparation for the fireworks show begins 15 minutes before midnight, with a combination of conventional and innovative fireworks, lights and lasers, accompanied by musical support, based on multimedia technology, with control of sound and light effects, aimed at intensify the countdown to entry in 2023.
The fireworks show, this year awarded to the company ‘Macedos Pirotecnia, Lda.’ for 1,099,080.00 euros, constitutes one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Autonomous Region of Madeira and attracts thousands of people, Madeirans and foreigners, to the island’s capital, with hotel occupancy around 100%, with the presence of seven cruise ships in the harbor and bay of Funchal on the night of December 31st to January 1st.
“New Year’s Eve in Madeira and Porto Santo constitutes a high moment in our programming, experienced with great passion by residents and by the thousands of visitors who fill our accommodation units at this time”, says the Regional Secretary for Tourism and Culture, Eduardo Jesus, in a statement sent to Lusa.
The government official adds that this is also a moment to praise “the good results that the tourism sector has achieved this year”, emphasizing the work carried out by all agents in favor of the region.
Meanwhile, Funchal City Council drew up a security plan for the end of the year night, mobilizing 70 operators from the county’s two fire brigades — Sapadores do Funchal and Voluntários Madeirenses — and the Portuguese Red Cross, who will be on hand prevention at fireworks launch points.
The municipality’s security plan also involves the Public Security Police and the Maritime Policy, which mobilizes a semi-rigid boat and a jet ski, considering the existence of five fire-launching stations installed on barges off the coast of Funchal and also the fact of many people watching the show aboard small boats.
Four ambulances will be positioned at strategic points and, on the other hand, several streets and roads will close or will be conditioned between 20:00 and 02:00, particularly in areas with a large influx of people, such as viewpoints and other points overlooking the bay.
The fireworks show could, however, be hampered by adverse weather conditions, as the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) indicates that the weather in the Madeira archipelago in the period between today and 01 January 2023 will be characterized by the occurrence of rain.
“From the end of the 30th [today], weak precipitation is expected throughout the archipelago”, says the institution in a statement, adding that at the end of the 31st of December, in the period of New Year’s Eve, the probability of rainfall is greater than 80% on the southern slopes of the island of Madeira and in the highlands.
In the early hours of January 1st, precipitation is expected to increase in intensity and frequency, and may at times be strong, and the IPMA has issued a yellow warning.
Temperatures, however, will remain mild until January 1st, with the maximum varying between 20 and 23 degrees Celsius and the minimum between 17 and 18 degrees in downtown Funchal.