A total of 600 participants will be taking part in the Loulé carnival alongside 14 floats during the event which is taking place on 23, 24 and 25 of February.
More than 75,000 visitors are expected in the centre of Loulé for the three day event, one of the oldest carnival celebrations in the country.
This year the local council budgeted €365,000 for the carnival and while mayor Vítor Aleixo admitted that he was unable to quantify the financial return generated by carnival, he stated that he did know that “this is an event with a very large impact” on the economy of the municipality.
The theme of carnival this year is “Louléwood”, and some of the most iconic figures from cinema will be central to the festivities which include satirical floats and a million paper flowers as part of the decorations along the streets.
As usual, stars from sports and politics will be brought into the eclectic mix which is set to feature Donald Trump as “Captain Trampa” alongside UN leader António “Gulkterres” who will be represented by the image of the cartoon character Hulk. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be shown as detective Sherlock Holmes who is looking, not to unveil a crime, but instead a withdrawal agreement from the EU.
Tickets to see the carnival parade cost €2 and are available from the onsite box office.