Faro and the Algarve presented their candidacy for European Capital of Culture

​An application developed for the people and with the people was the motto for the presentation of Faro's Candidature for European Capital of Culture 2027, which took place at Teatro das Figuras on the 28th of February. Dozens of guests took the stage to tell, in the first person, what it has been like to participate in this process.

​The journey through the Faro2027 application process began in the foyer of the theater where photographs, objects and films presented the path taken, highlighting some initiatives and projects, trying to anticipate what would be presented on stage.

​It was up to the Vice-President of the Municipality of Faro, Paulo Santos, to start the event. “Faro2027 is a process, it is a path of no return.”, was the opening sentence of his presentation where he explained all the work developed, regional involvement as an opportunity for development but above all how this process challenged teams and working methods : “Nobody was prepared for a project of this magnitude. We were all forced to review working methods and formulas, we were forced to lose the fear of taking risks and we were forced to leave our comfort zone.” In his presentation, the different stages of the process were enumerated, the projects carried out, the European networks created but above all the process was valued regardless of the fact that Faro/Algarve won the title: “We are committed to this competition but our focus was and will continue to be on the process”, concluded Paulo Santos.

The event continued in a talkshow format and many were invited to take the stage to give body and voice to the process. The presentation of the Candidature Dossier (bidbook) was in charge of Bruno Inácio, Head of the Culture Division of the Municipality of Faro and Coordinator of the Faro2027 team. Bruno explained how the region's relationship with water is the main theme of the application, around which all the other problems and themes addressed are derived, not least, such as multiculturalism, climate change and tourist massification.

​The official presentation of the Faro2027 application to the jury will take place on the 9th of March in Lisbon, in an event behind closed doors, with the cities selected for the second phase of the process being known on the 11th of March.

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