Rui Moreira said that the Queimódromo enclosure has the
capacity to accommodate "40,000 people".
"We believe it will meet demand", said the mayor,
while highlighting that access to the venue is free.
Noting that the "works" taking place in the city
centre made it impossible to hold the usual festivities at Aliados, Rui Moreira
guaranteed that the Queimódromo enclosure "is prepared" and "has
all the conditions for safety and comfort".
"We believe it will be a success", he noted,
saying, however, that he was concerned about the bad weather forecast for that
night, especially wind and rain.
"Even so, [weather forecasts] point to a softening of
conditions (...). That no longer depends on us, it depends on S. Pedro",
he added.
The New Year's festivities will take place this year at two
different points in the city of Porto: at Queimódromo, where concerts and a
fireworks display will take place, and at Praça da República, where fireworks
are planned.
The Queimódromo opens at 20:00 and will have food service
areas. At the enclosure, the festivities start at 22:30 with a concert by
Fernando Daniel. The countdown will be integrated into the audiovisual show
"Luminous", which will last 15 minutes. The party continues, at
00:10, with a performance by Diogo Piçarra, and into the early hours, with
Moullinex.
According to Rui Moreira, people with reduced mobility will
have "special access" to the enclosure and a reserved area, it being
only necessary that they register in advance on the Ágora website.
The arrival of 2023 will also be celebrated at Praça da
República, with the launch of a firework show that will last eight minutes.
The New Year celebrations result from a municipal investment
of around 400 thousand euros, said the councillor responsible for Health and
Quality of Life, Catarina Araújo.
During the night and early morning, both Metro do Porto and Sociedade de Transportes Coletivos do Porto (STCP) will reinforce the service, with a reinforcement of the network from 20:00 with the exception of the airport, and with a 'shuttle' between São João hospital and Queimódromo, and Aliados and Queimódromo, with a frequency of 15 minutes, respectively.