The official June 10th - Portugal Day celebrations in Lagos begin today at 1:00 pm, with the raising of the national flag in Praça do Infante D. Henrique, in the presence of the President of the Republic.
The writer and State Counselor Lídia Jorge, originally from the Algarve, chairs the organising committee for these Portugal Day celebrations, the tenth and last with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa as President of the Republic.
The flag-raising ceremony, which marks the start of the 10th June celebrations in Portugal, was scheduled for 10:00am, but was postponed due to the late arrival of the head of state in Lagos, early this morning, who was coming from Germany, where he watched Portugal's victory in the Nations League final on Sunday night, with the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro.
In Germany, before watching the game in which the Portuguese football team defeated Spain on penalties, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and the recently re-elected prime minister celebrated Portugal Day together with the Portuguese community in Stuttgart, on Saturday – an initiative that was not part of the original program for this 10th of June, only announced the day before.
The President of the Republic's programme in Lagos includes, next, a visit to the exhibition of military resources and capabilities of the Portuguese Armed Forces, in the Jardim da Constituição, and in the evening, from 9:30 pm, a concert by the Army Light Orchestra, open to the public, in Praça do Infante D. Henrique.
On Tuesday, June 10th, the Military Ceremony Commemorating Portugal Day, starting at 11:00am, will take place on Avenida dos Descobrimentos, with speeches by the head of state and the president of the organising committee, Lídia Jorge.
These are the second celebrations of Portugal Day with Luís Montenegro as Prime Minister and take place after the inauguration of the members of the XXV Constitutional Government, held between Thursday and Friday, following the early legislative elections of May 18, which resulted in a new PSD/CDS-PP executive.
The current model of double celebrations of June 10, first in Portugal and then among Portuguese communities abroad, was launched by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, when he assumed the head of state, in 2016, in conjunction with the then Prime Minister, António Costa, and with the participation of both.
Source https://www.algarveprimeiro.com/ - Photo courtesy of Depositphotos.com
