The ''Avante!'' Festival () is an annual cultural

festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

held during the first weekend of September. It was started in 1976 by the

Portuguese Communist Party The Portuguese Communist Party (, , PCP) is a Communism, communist and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist List of political parties in Portugal, political party in Portugal. It is one of the strongest List of communist parties, communist par ...

and is named after the party's official newspaper, '' Avante!'' After taking part in different locations around

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, like the ',

Ajuda Ajuda () is a ''freguesia'' (civil parish) and district of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Ajuda is located in western Lisbon, northeast of Belém and west of Alcântara. The population in 2011 was 15,617.Loures Loures () is a city and a municipality in Portugal which is part of the Lisbon District, District and Lisbon Metropolitan Area, Metropolitan area of Lisbon. It is the fifth most populous municipality in the country, with a total population of 201, ...

, the festival is now held in Amora, a town near

Seixal Seixal () is a Portugal, Portuguese city and municipality, located in the district of Setúbal District, Setúbal, in the metropolitan area of Lisbon region, Lisbon. Its population includes 184,269 inhabitants (2011), in an area of that includes ...

in a ground bought by the party after a massive fundraising campaign in the early 90s. The campaign was considered by the party as the only way to avoid the boycott organised by the owners of the previous festivals grounds, that culminated in 1987 with the festival not having been held after 11 editions. The festival usually sees hundreds of thousands of visitors, making the outside of the ground appear like a gigantic camping park. The festival consists of a three-day music festival, with the participation of hundreds of Portuguese and international bands and artists in five different stages, ethnography, gastronomy, debates, a book & music fair, theatre (''Avanteatro''), cinema (''Cineavante'') and sporting events. Several foreign communist parties also participate. In 28 editions, the festival has hosted several famous artists, Portuguese and foreign, like

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, Baden Powell, Ivan Lins,

Buffy Sainte-Marie Buffy Sainte-Marie (born Beverley Jean Santamaria; February 20, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and social activist. Sainte-Marie's singing and writing repertoire includes subjects of love, war, religion, and mysticism, and h ...

Holly Near Holly Near (born June 6, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, teacher, and activist. Family Holly Near was born in Ukiah, California, United States, and was raised on a ranch in Potter Valley, California. She has two sisters, Ti ...

Johnny Clegg Jonathan Paul Clegg, (7 June 195316 July 2019) was a South African musician, singer-songwriter, dancer, anthropologist and Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist. He first performed as part of a duo - ''Johnny & Sipho'' - ...

Charlie Haden Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than fifty years. Haden helped to revolutionize the harmonic concept of bass playin ...

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning nearly seven decades. An Academy Awards, Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award-winning rec ...

Richie Havens Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk music, folk, soul music, soul (both of which he frequently cover song, covered), and rhythm and b ...

Tom Paxton Thomas Richard Paxton (born October 31, 1937) is an American folk singer-songwriter whose career spans more than sixty years. In 2009, Paxton received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

, The Soviet Circus Company, the

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Choir,

Dexys Midnight Runners Dexys (known as Dexys Midnight Runners from 1978 to 2011) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul music, soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid- 1980s. They are best known in the UK for their ...

The Band The Band was a Canadian-American rock music, rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1957. It consisted of the Canadians Rick Danko (bass, guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, d ...

Hevia José Ángel Hevia Velasco, known professionally as Hevia (born October 11, 1967 in Villaviciosa, Asturias), is an Asturian bagpiper – specifically, an Asturian gaita player. He commonly performs with his sister, María José, on drums ...

, Adriano Correia de Oliveira,

Carlos Paredes Carlos Paredes (; 16 February 1925 – 23 July 2004) was a virtuoso Portuguese guitar player and composer. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of Portuguese guitar of all-time. Born in Coimbra, Portugal, in a family with a long t ...

Jorge Palma Jorge Manuel de Abreu Palma (born 4 June 1950) is a Portuguese singer and songwriter. A well-known and acclaimed songwriter in Portugal, Palma started his solo career in 1972 and was a busker in several cities abroad before settling back in Po ...

Manoel de Oliveira Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira (; 11 December 1908 – 2 April 2015) was a Portuguese film director and screenwriter born in Cedofeita, Porto. He first began making films in 1927, when he and some friends attempted to make a film about Wor ...

and many others. The preparation of the festival begins right after the end of the previous festival. Hundreds of party members and their friends, mostly young people, volunteer for the hard work of building a small town in a few months. The ''Avante!'' Festival has the capacity for over 100,000 people. It tends to be at full capacity during the days of the festival.

Gallery

File:Vista geral recinto Festa Avante 2009.JPG, 2009 festival File:Palco 25 de Abril 2009 Festa do Avante.JPG, 2009 stage File:Cartaz da Festa do Avante 2009.JPG, Banner

External links

* {{coord missing, Portugal Communist press festivals Portuguese Communist Party Music festivals in Portugal 1976 establishments in Portugal Annual events in Portugal Seixal Music festivals established in 1976 Autumn in Portugal

Gallery

Further reading

External links