They are at the tens of thousands and make a lot of noise, but their presence is eagerly awaited by many people from the Algarve, not only by those who love motorcycles, but also by economic agents in the region who do good business during the International Meeting of the Motoclube de Faro.
Bikers from all over the world have already started to arrive at Faro to participate in the largest concentration of motorcycles in Europe not associated with a sporting event, which starts on Thursday and lasts until Sunday, in Vale das Almas, next to the Airport.
In the 35 years of concentration, the Motoclube de Faro, which organizes the event, bet heavily on the musical poster, which features the well-known international band Fun Lovin' Criminals, but also with renowned Portuguese artists, such as friends Xutos & Pontapés, fado singer Carminho, The Legendary Tigerman and Frankie Chavez.
Its function will be to guarantee the entertainment of visitors on different nights. And they will have a lot of people to animate, since, as usual, many participants are expected at the Concentration of Faro.
“This year we have the thing set up for around 20 thousand entries [motorcycles]. But, naturally, many more people will come», revealed the president of the Motoclube de Faro Zé Amaro in an interview with Rádio Universitária do Algarve (FM Street).
Even so, the event has been losing some participants in recent years, as a result of the economic situation and some political options. The economic crisis that shook the world is one of the causes, but Zé Amaro stresses “the introduction of tolls on Via do Infante” as another factor that alienated participants.
«A person who comes from Porto pays lots of money in tolls. Anyone coming from Madrid arrives here without spending any money. This aberration that are the tolls on Via do Infante was a matter that should have been resolved long ago. And, of course, the crisis also contributed to lower it a little bit. Let's see if Europe recovers and, in addition, that bikers start to have more money available», wished the president of the Motoclube de Faro.
With this situation, keeping alive an event of this dimension is possible «due to the passion and love we have for motorcycles and all the volunteer work that has existed during these 35 years, with members and members of the club».
Passion and love for motorcycles will probably be the key expression when we talk about the Motorcycle Concentration of Faro. This is because, despite all the difficulties, there are those who find a way to return to the Algarve capital, year after year, to participate in the festival.
In some cases, there are those who choose to travel by plane to contain expenses. “There are many people who choose to fly because it is cheaper for them. In other cases, it's because they don't have the necessary vacation days to travel by motorbike. Those coming from the UK need at least ten days to come, be and come back, which becomes complicated», said Zé Amaro. The proximity of the airport of Faro with the place of concentration helps many to opt for this solution.
Although, as Zé Amaro regularly points out, this is not a music festival, this aspect always occupies an important space in the event. In addition to the bands already mentioned, there are Jake & Elwood, Ars Armandi and The Dixie Boys.
In terms of animation, the 25th edition of the Bike Shows, for the Oásis space, which operates 24 hours a day and will feature "local bands and beyond", for street entertainment over the three days and for a giant screen that will be installed on the premises of Vale das Almas, where the cinema will be shown. On Sunday, there is the long-awaited final parade, which starts at noon and ends at the Doca de Faro, after passing the Forum Algarve and Largo de São Francisco.
The president of the Motoclube de Faro took the opportunity to highlight the fact that the access to Praia de Faro improved recently, which is good news for the organization of the Concentration, as this is a place that the participants insist on attending.
As for the performance of the police forces, Zé Amaro admits that "last year things got better", hoping that this year things will go as in 2015, when "there was no problem and the policing was not so ostentatious".
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