The Regional Tourism Secretariat presents today, at 3pm, at the Madeira Photography Museum – Atelier Vicente’s the program for the Christmas and End of Year 2023 festivities. The events follow the same lines as previous years, but with some new features, particularly in terms of street lighting in Funchal.
The 1.6 million light bulbs will light up next Friday (1 December) and the system is increasingly based on interactive technology. For example, in some points the lamps will be activated by people passing by and there will be ‘photospots’. We will also have the use of augmented reality, activated by a mobile phone application, with a presentation of animated Christmas figures, synchronized with music.
The program will maintain several of the attractions from previous years. The activities will take place mainly at the Central Placa on Avenida Arriaga, with the ‘Christmas Market’ and its little houses with typical Madeira products. Largo da Restauração once again welcomes the ‘Ethnographic Village’, which includes a nativity scene. A few dozen meters away, closer to the Cathedral, another nativity scene will be created with large figures.
We will once again have concerts by various artists and musical groups, as well as philharmonic bands, in addition to performances by folklore groups. Already scheduled for December 26th, at the Congress Center, the Christmas show ‘Romantic Winter Wonderland’ is scheduled, prepared by the Associação Cultural e Artística Imperatriz Sissy, with the participation of Madeiran singers Vânia Fernandes, Cláudia Sousa, Maria Ferreira, Paulo Soares, João Camacho and tenor Alberto Sousa. The program includes a repertoire with well-known themes from the world of musicals, such as “The Greatest Showman”, “Evita” and “White Christmas”, operettas such as “Dein Ist Mein Ganzes Herz”, and also themes from the iconic world of Disney, such as “The beauty and the Beast”.
As usual, there will be no shortage of Christmas themes, from the most classic to the most recent. This show will also have the special participation of dancers from the schools “Prestige Dance Club” and “Funchal Dance School”, with choreography by teachers Oksana Kerekesh, Vladimir Kerekesh, Mariana Menezes and Vanessa Fernandes.
The highlight of the festivities is the pyrotechnic show that welcomes the New Year of 2024. The fireworks will last 8 minutes and are run by the same company Macedos Pirotecnia, which we have year after year.