Funchal, Portugal, Sept. 11, 2026 (Lusa) - The Regional Government of Madeira has invested €247,000 in this year's Colombo Festival, which takes place on the island of Porto Santo between 17 and 20 September, where hotel occupancy is forecast to be around 93%.

«We have assessed the market and expect an occupancy rate of 93%, which is roughly the same as in 2025. We will carry out a second survey in three days' time, but it is already clear that occupancy will be very high, in line with last year's figures,» said the Regional Secretary for Tourism, the Environment and Culture.

Eduardo Jesus was speaking at a press conference in Funchal, where he presented the programme for the Colombo Festival, an event marking the end of the summer season in Porto Santo. 

This year's festival will feature 58 performances, including 25 musical acts, 16 dance performances and 11 other events, such as street theatre, fire shows, travelling theatre troupes and an archery tournament.

«This festival involves around 400 people [in its organisation] and has a budget of €247,100, an increase on last year's figure of €204,400,» he said, explaining that the increased budget is mainly due to the inclusion of new features, such as a circus arts show called ‘(EU)phoria'.

»The Colombo Festival, a major tourist attraction in the region, takes place in the centre of Vila Baleira and is based on a re-enactment of the period when the navigator Christopher Columbus lived on the island of Porto Santo, between 1479 and 1481, where he married Filipa Moniz, daughter of the island's first captain-donatário, Bartolomeu Perestrelo.

The highlight of the event is always the landing on the beach, this time scheduled for 17 September at 7.45 pm, from the Santa Maria, a replica of the ship on which Columbus discovered the American continent in 1492.

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