Christmas in all her glory will illuminate the streets of Funchal and surrounding areas from the 1st of December until the 8th of January, confirmed the Regional Secretariat for Economy, Tourism, and Culture, Eduardo Jesus.
In a press statement, the Regional Secretary stated that the lights will cover the main avenues and arteries of all parishes in Funchal, including public buildings, monuments, squares, churches, fortresses, palaces, streams, and gardens.
The lights will be turned on at 18:00 and off at 01:00 on most days except on December the 23rd, 24th, and 31st, with the lights being turned off at 06:00. The times differ on the 25th and 30th of December with the lights being switched off at 04:00.
At the Funchal Pier, the “Celestial Path of Storms” will create an impressive feature using immersive and innovative augmented reality technology. Visitors will be able to hear, see, and interact with the help of their mobile phones and direct interactions. On this path, there will be ‘clouds’ that change color, curtains of lights that will imitate rainfall, ‘stars’ that shine, and even ‘lightning’. At the end of the path will be a grandiose ‘sun.”
Technology and human interaction will also be present in other arteries of the city, with motion sensors and the possibility of controlling colours, for example.
In the central area of Funchal, on Rua Fernão de Ornelas and adjacent areas, as well as in the Municipal Garden, the illuminations are inspired by the Cleopatra butterfly of Madeira, “an endemic species of the island that has as a unique characteristic a luminous and fluorescent colouring”.
“The entire project was prepared with original pieces, following the highest criteria of aesthetics and creativity, quality and diversity of motifs, maintaining, however, the traditional, religious and regional nature of Madeira’s Christmas celebrations,” says the Secretariat of Tourism.
An interactive Christmas tree will be installed again in Praça do Povo, with 30 meters, which will feature “flown pieces simulating a huge musical score” inside and with an augmented reality experience.
In Praça Colombo there will be a 3D installation, “simulating a stylized ball and Christmas tree, which will serve as a ‘photopoint'”, while Praça CR7 and Avenida Sá Carneiro will be filled with Christmas elements associated with the theme of the sea.
According to the regional executive, Avenida Sá Carneiro will have an installation with luminous jellyfish, forming a ceiling along 180 meters, and in Praça CR7 “there will be two walls filled with jellyfish similar to those on the avenue”.
The Regional Government has launched two public tenders, worth a total of 3.6 million euros (excluding VAT), for the design, construction, assembly and disassembly of Christmas and New Year’s lights in 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 and Carnival in the next two years.
The Regional Secretariat for Tourism stresses that “the technology and equipment used will be environmentally friendly, low consumption and recyclable, such as the exclusive use of LED (light transmitting diode), respecting the highest standards of energy efficiency and environmental sustainability”.
The tutelage adds that the tender specifications included “once again the reduction of energy consumption and the introduction of innovative and sustainable technologies capable of simultaneously guaranteeing not only the surprise effect, but also sustainability with regard to the materials/equipment used”.
