The Portuguese cultural festival will be cut back to its original three-day format after previously holding two straight six-day editions
Macao to downsize annual Lusofonia Festival after Galaxy pulls out
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Macao’s Lusofonia Festival – a long-running celebration of Portuguese culture – will be downsized this year after local casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group withdrew its sponsorship for undisclosed reasons.
According to a TDM report, the 29th Lusofonia Festival will only take place over a single weekend this year, between 23 and 25 October. This current schedule represents a downgrade in comparison to the 2024 and 2025 editions sponsored by Galaxy, which adopted a six-day format held over two consecutive weekends.
Amélia António, the president of Macao’s Casa de Portugal, explained the decision to cut short the 2026 edition of Macao’s Lusofonia Festival was due to financial constraints stemming from Galaxy’s sponsorship withdrawal.
She noted that the gaming concessionaire’s financial support during the past two editions had allowed the organisers to hold longer celebrations.
With Galaxy no longer in the picture, António said the budget for this year’s Lusofonia would rely entirely on official funding from the Macao government, as there were no other sources of private support.
Changes and reaction to Macao’s Lusofonia Festival after cuts
As a result of the shorter program this year, the Casa de Portugal president said the spotlight would be placed on local artists rather than on overseas talent.
“The budget is smaller and the schedule is uncertain, so we can’t bring in the same number of people from outside,” she explained. “Of course, there will be some participation from abroad, but on a smaller scale.”
Miguel de Senna Fernandes, the head of the Macanese Association, said he was “disappointed” with the event’s reversion to a smaller event and stressed the importance of carrying on with Macao’s Lusofonia Festival.
Some other parties involved in the popular festival say a shorter program will be easier to manage, while others believe the loss of Galaxy funding to be a major setback.
[See more: University of Macau Portuguese summer programme opens]
TDM said it had requested comments from Galaxy regarding its non-participation in Lusofonia, but had not yet received a response at the time of reporting.
First staged in June 1998, Macao’s Lusofonia Festival is aimed at showcasing the cultures of the city’s Portuguese-speaking communities. The event aligns with Macao’s positioning as a platform for exchange between China and Lusophone countries and harks back to the city’s more than 400 years of history under Portuguese administration.
