Around 1.6 million light bulbs will be lit from December 1 in Funchal, marking the start of the Christmas and New Year festivities, the Madeira Regional Secretariat of Tourism and Culture announced this Friday.
The Christmas lights will color the center and the outskirts of Funchal between December 1 and January 8, says the regional secretariat in information sent to the Lusa news agency, noting that this year “there will be around 1.6 million bulbs in streets, buildings and different places in the city”.
Among some of the novelties for this year, the guardianship highlights the videomapping projections on the corner of the Funchal Cathedral and on the north wall of the São Lourenço Palace.
The CR7 square “will be improved, offering more space to visit the sets”and a 30-meter Christmas tree will be installed in Praça do Povo, “which works as a photo booth”.
At Funchal’s pier, an electronically animated tunnel will offer visitors “a ride across the water to an angel at the end of the pier.”
On the other hand, some spaces in the city will have different interactive technologies, such as augmented reality, which, “through a mobile application, will present animated Christmas figures synchronized with music.”
Some locations will also feature sensory technologies that trigger different lighting animations with the presence or passage of people.
In this edition of the Christmas and New Year festivities, lights come on at 6 p.m. and will go off at 1 a.m. most daysUnlike previous years, which used to close at 2:00 a.m., in order to reduce energy consumption.
However, there is exceptions for December 23, 24 and 31, with lights out at 6:00 amand on December 25 and 30 it will go off at 4:00 am.
The Regional Secretary of Tourism reports that it has already had this concern with energy consumption for several years, noting that the electricity bill consumed by Christmas lights in the Madeiran capital has been reduced by around 70% in 10 years, ” as a result of the growing commitment to increasingly economical and environmentally friendly luminaires”.
“This reality did not imply a decrease in the distribution of lights. On the contrary, it has even registered growth and innovations on a yearly basis”, she adds.
The “Mercadinho de Natal”, installed every year on the central plate of Avenida Arriaga, will also be in operation between December 1 and January 8.
It opens every day at 10:00 a.m., and on Fridays and Saturdays it closes at 1:00 a.m. and the rest of the days at 00:00 a.m. There are also exceptions for December 23, 30 and 31, closing at 4:00 am. On December 25 and January 1 it will be closed and on Christmas Eve it closes at 6:00 p.m.
The linear lighting of the Funchal amphitheater, the decoration of the trees in the streets, gardens and roundabouts of the city, as well as the lighting of the contours, balconies and lintels of public and private buildings and of the three streams that run through the center These are some of the characteristics that usually mark the Christmas season and are a great attraction for residents and visitors.
The Diputación announces two public tenders, for a total amount of 3.9 million euros (VAT included), for the design, construction, assembly and disassembly of Christmas and New Year’s Eve lighting in 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 and Carnival in the next two years.
The lights are in charge of the companies LuxStar, Iluminações Teixeira Couto and Castros – Iluminações Festivas.
Source: Observadora
