Optimus Alive And Kicking

Lisbon’s Optimus Alive has again broken its crowd records, this time attracting 120,000 fans, and event promoter Everything Is New is hopeful next year’s festival will sell out.

When it started in 2007 on the city’s Alges Park site, a vast expanse of grassland next to the now-scenic old docklands, it pulled 70,000 across three days.

In 2008 the crowd was up to 100,000, last year it was 110,000 and this year’s edition July 8-10 set the bar even higher.

The third day featuring Pearl Jam, LCD Soundsystem, and Gogol Bordello was a 45,000-capacity sellout.

Nuno Vieira from Everything Is New says the weather was sunny on all three days, although being close to the mouth of the river means it can be a little cold at night.

He believes this year’s festival went down so well that any increase in 2011 will take it close to its 135,000 three-day capacity.