Faro, Portugal, July 17, 2025 (Lusa) - The 42nd International Motorcycle Rally in Faro, which kicks off on Thursday on the outskirts of the city, expects to welcome around 20,000 people from all over the world by Sunday, said the president of the Faro Motorcycle Club.
We expect to welcome “20,000 people, but we have everything ready for 20,000 or more,” said Pedro Baptista at a press conference held at the event venue in Vale das Almas, a pine forest on the road between the airport and Faro Beach.
The Faro Motorcycle Club organises the annual ‘biker culture’ event, which features four days of concerts and bike shows, among other activities, and culminates on the last day with a motorcycle parade and farewell ride through the city of Faro.
Pedro Baptista has been the president of the Faro Motorcycle Club since November, succeeding the historic José Amaro, who held the post for more than four decades.
By mid-morning today, queues of motorcyclists were forming, and on the surrounding roads, traffic consisted mainly of motorcycles of all sizes and shapes.
“At the moment, about 4,000 people have registered,” but we expect many more to arrive, said Pedro Baptista, adding that people will come from all over the world.
Organisers scheduled concerts by names such as ‘The Waterboys’ and Sara Correia on Saturday, ‘Calle del Ruido’, ‘Moonspell’ and ‘Blasted Mechanism’ on Friday, and ‘The Black Mamba’ and ‘Bubba Brothers’ today.
The Mayor of Faro, Rogério Bacalhau, also highlighted the arrival of “people from all over the world” to an event that is “unique”, with an economic impact of around €2 million going directly into the region’s economy.
“It must be the event that has the greatest impact on the Algarve in such a short space of time [four days],” said the mayor.
Rogério Bacalhau stated that, in terms of security, “everything is ready,” and various entities conducted all the necessary inspections of the venue on Wednesday.
“All the conditions are in place for the gathering to take place normally and smoothly,” said the mayor, who also appealed for civility from all participants.
The person responsible for security at the venue, Pascal Cavaco, stated that the team typically resolves any incidents that occur “internally,” with approximately 1,000 people involved in security.
Regarding health issues, Bárbara Ribeiro stated that approximately 40 professionals from this sector will be present, in addition to 66 nurses and technicians from the Red Cross.
“We are all here voluntarily”, and “we will try to resolve as many cases as possible at the venue,” said Bárbara Ribeiro.
She added that “we will seldom need to transfer people to Faro Hospital,” and such transfers will occur only in cases of minor fractures: “Burns are the most frequent case we have to treat,” she said.
Meanwhile, the GNR has announced that it will “intensify” patrols and road control and enforcement on the main national roads, especially on access roads to the area where the “43rd International Motorcycle Rally” is taking place.
FPB/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
