"These numbers can only increase exponentially in the coming weeks", in view of the renewal of the state of emergency for another two weeks, announced on Thursday by the President of the Republic, the association warned in a statement.

APEFE explains that it carried out an "exhaustive and detailed survey", together with ticketing companies Ticktline, Blueticket and BOL, to find out how many shows were postponed, cancelled or suspended between 8 March and 31 May.

The accounting shown by APEFE indicates that 364 promoters had to cancel 7,866 shows, postpone 15,412 and suspend 1,537 events, affecting a total of 24,815 cultural and artistic events in dance, music, theatre and other performing arts.

For APEFE, the numbers materialize "an unprecedented crisis in the culture market in Portugal" and a "very serious problem of subsistence and survival for thousands of people and companies".

"All companies and professionals linked to culture", underlines the association, "show a 100 percent drop in their turnover, in their income and are prohibited from exercising their activity".

The association had already warned of the consequences of the sector's paralysis, lamenting, on 24 March, that the measures presented by the Government were "clearly insufficient".

Days later, the Ministry of Culture announced a set of specific measures to protect consumers and promoters from cancelled shows.

One of the measures approved concerns public procurement, which allows public entities, national or municipal, and promoters of shows, in the event of rescheduling of shows, to “use the legal mechanisms of the advance price, price revision and even the regime of goods, services or complementary works”.

The measures also cover "shows not performed, between 28 February, 2020, and up to 90 business days after the end of the state of emergency".