The initiative, scheduled for June 10, came from the association 'New York Portuguese American Leadership Conference' (NYPALC), which appealed to Portuguese and Portuguese descendants in the region to attend the unprecedented event.

"Welcome everyone to the first year of lighting the Mario M. Cuomo bridge on June 10th in celebration of Portugal, Camões and Portuguese Communities Day. We ask everyone to join us in observing the lighting", states NYPALC on its Facebook page.

The lighting ceremony for the bridge - which crosses the Hudson River and connects Rockland and Westchester counties - will start at 7:30 pm local time (00:30 am in Lisbon) and will include the raising of flags.

Later, guests will travel to Pierson Park, next to the Hudson River, where they will be able to observe the lighting of the bridge.

Located less than 20 miles north of New York City, the bridge - named after the 52nd Governor of the State of New York, Mario M. Cuomo - was fully opened to traffic in 2018 and crosses one of the widest parts of the Hudson River.