A concert by the Portuguese singer Aurea and a brief firework at Praia dos Pescadores. This is Albufeira's New Year's Eve program, which in 2011, and for the first time, will be paid in large part by the municipality's entrepreneurs, with the participation of the City Council.
The municipality had already announced that, "given the financial conditions of the municipality and the national situation", this year it would not have the money to "make a New Year's Eve at the level of the previous ones", explained this Monday, at a press conference at the headquarters of AHETA, the mayor of Albufeira.
However, the municipality did not give up its arms and, through a partnership with the Albufeira Promotion Agency (APAL), began contacts with hoteliers, with members of the Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Similar Services of Portugal (AHRESP) and of Association of Commerce and Services of the Algarve Region (ACRAL), «so that we can combine wills so that we can implement a good end-of-year program».
And so, by joining the contributions of around 70 entrepreneurs in the municipality, including hotels, restaurants, bars, merchants and even taxis, it was possible to gather the 90 thousand euros needed to hire the artist Aurea and her band, as well as the fireworks .
“The municipality will only be responsible for Civil Protection and Security. Everything else – artist, stage, fireworks – is the responsibility of APAL», added Desidério Silva.
"The Chamber brought together the most representative institutions of the business fabric and there was soon a very large availability", said the mayor. The fact is that, he stressed, «the county's economic fabric will be the first to take advantage, to have a return on all this investment», in terms of hotels, bars, restaurants, local businesses, taxis. The Chamber only "spends money", since "what results from all this leaves here, goes to Lisbon", said Desidério Silva, referring to taxes, such as VAT or even IRC, which are not in the municipality.
But the mayor makes a point of stressing that, if New Year's Eve was already a reference in terms of attractiveness, this year it will be even more so, since in no other municipality in the Algarve is there such a big bet as in Albufeira. And this despite the budget having been reduced by more than 60 percent, from more than 250 euros in 2010 to 90 this year.
«In the Algarve, there is nothing with this dynamic», he guaranteed, adding that the promoters intend to «grab the whole Algarve to this event», because it is positive «to pass on abroad that there is a reference year in the region». The effort to promote the initiative will also be extended to the regions of Spain with which Albufeira, through APAL, has been strengthening relations, namely Andalusia, Galicia and Extremadura.
Desidério Silva also said that, while «the end of the year is assumed by the businessmen», the money that the municipality does not spend on animation is used «in the social area», «due to the most urgent needs of the municipality».
The mayor of Albufeira ended the press conference making an appeal to businessmen who are not yet contributing. "Those who have not yet come forward, let them do so," said Desidério Silva, in his usual straightforward style.
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