Features
Numbers Up At Sudoeste
Even the organizers of Portugal’s MEO Sudoeste seem a little puzzled why attendance at the 17th edition of the festival enjoyed a sharp increase on recent years.
Photo: facebook.com/MEOSudoeste
The five-day crowd of 154,000 was 14 percent up on the 135,000 that attended in 2012. The Musica No Coracao-promoted event is something of a holiday destination.
About half the crowd arrive at Zambujeira do Mar about four days before the event starts.
They spend a few days relaxing on the beaches around the estuary before turning up at the dance-oriented festival the day before it officially opens.
Zambujeira do Mar has a population of a little more than 1,000 and tourism outsrips fishing and agriculture as its only significant sources of income. The acts enjoying a Portuguese break Aug. 7-11 included Avicii, Calvin Harris, Snoop Lion, Pitbull, Cee-Lo Green, and Fatboy Slim.