Portimão City Council, in the Algarve, the event's organizer, expects this year's total number of visitors to exceed the 133,000 expected in 2024, attracted by the line-up of musical concerts, a municipal source told Lusa.

During the six days of the event, five restaurants, run by local associations, will offer regional Algarve cuisine for those less fond of grilled sardines.

In addition to the gastronomy where sardines reign supreme, the event features a lively line-up of musical concerts on the venue's three stages and dozens of exhibitors, from artisans to local producers.

The festival kicks off on August 5 with a recreation of the unloading of sardines at the Gil Eanes pier, next to the old fish market, a performance that pays homage to the city's fishing history.


Three thousand tickets will be distributed at the venue for a free tasting of two sardines on bread and a drink at the venue's restaurants.

The "Festival Plate" (five grilled sardines, bread, boiled potatoes, and Algarve salad, drink not included) has a fixed price of 11 euros.

Outside the official venue, grilled sardines can be enjoyed at six partner restaurants located along Portimão's riverfront.

The extensive musical program includes concerts by Rui Veloso on the opening day (August 5th), Pedro Abrunhosa (August 6th), Diogo Piçarra (August 7th), Nena (August 8th), and Para Sempre Marco (August 9th).

Resistência, one of the most iconic Portuguese music groups from the first half of the 1990s, will close the 29th edition of the Portimão Sardine Festival.

The fish available at the festival is purchased by the local authority, caught on the Algarve coast, and stored in a refrigerated vehicle at two degrees Celsius (+2°C) with salt water to ensure quality and freshness.

The first edition of the event dates back to 1985, and was called the "Sardine and Sea Festival," taking place in a small space adjacent to the Portimão Harbor Master's Office.

Due to a lack of facilities, the event was suspended in 1991 and only resumed ten years later, at the city's Exhibition Park.

Sardines have been of great importance to Portimão over the years, a municipality where, for decades, there were around 850 artisanal fishing vessels and nearly 30 canning factories in operation.