The Multiusos de Lamego hosted, on the night of February 4, the opening gala of Douro – European City of Wine 2023. The program will include over 600 activities in the region.
The gala was attended by more than a thousand guests — among them, the Ministers of Territorial Cohesion, Ana Abrunhosa, and of Agriculture, Maria do Céu Antunes, and mayors and leaders of many regional and national institutions — and marked the start of a year of intense cultural activity and promotion of this World Heritage territory.
The president of AMPV – Association of Portuguese Wine Municipalities, Luís Encarnação, the secretary general of AMPV and Recevin, José Arruda, and the president of Recevin, Rosa Melchor, were also present at this gala.
The Mayor of Lamego, Francisco Lopes, welcomed all those present and showed his conviction that this award constitutes “a unique opportunity for Europe to discover the Douro and, on the other hand, for the demarcated wine region oldest in the world to promote its wine tourism, its culture and its heritage”.
During this great moment of regional affirmation, the Douro Intermunicipal Community (CIM DOURO) honored, in Lamego, the builders of the wine landscape and those who contributed to its development, namely the former prime ministers of Portugal António Guterres, Durão Barroso and Francisco Pinto Balsemão.
Recognition also went to Miguel Cadilhe and Fernando Bianchi de Aguiar, respectively, mentor and coordinator of the Douro’s candidacy for World Heritage, a distinction that came to fruition in 2001. CIM Douro also awarded an award to professors and researchers Nuno Magalhães and Arlete Mendes Faia for creating the oenology course at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), the first in the country.
On stage, the party featured artists Ana Bacalhau, António Zambujo, Pedro Abrunhosa and Miguel Araújo, as well as groups from the region.
- Photography: Municipality of Lamego
