Official launch of the celebrations for the 500th anniversary of the birth of Luís de Camões
As part of the commemorative programme for the 10th of June, a free show featuring singer Teresa Salgueiro and other artists will be held at the Pátio das Escolas.
On the 10th of June, the University of Coimbra (UC) will host the official opening of the 5th Centenary of the Birth of Luís de Camões celebrations. The event is included in the celebrations of the Day of Portugal, Camões and Portuguese Communities and will end with a concert and performance by the singer Teresa Salgueiro, among others, at 9.30 pm in the Pátio das Escolas.
The show, open to the public (with 2,000 seats), is inspired by a verse written by Camões - "Eram tudo memórias de alegria" (Os Lusíadas, III, 119) - which serves as the motto for the entire event.
There will be performances by the Surunyo Band (in a short moment of sixteenth-century songs), the singer Teresa Salgueiro, the Quórum Ballet, the Inquietação Group from the Fado Section of the Coimbra Academia Association, and the Antigos Orfeonistas Choir of the University of Coimbra (all of them with performances inspired by Camões' poetry, which in the last two examples blends with Fado de Coimbra). The performances will be combined by actor Diogo Dória reciting Camões' verses.
Tickets for the free performance are available at the UC Tourism Office (located in Colégio de Jesus) and at the Convento São Francisco.
The concert is preceded by two other initiatives organised by the University of Coimbra and Coimbra City Council, in collaboration with the Commission for the Commemoration of the 5th Centenary of the Birth of Luís de Camões, chaired by Rita Marnoto, Professor at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the UC. The initiative has the high patronage of the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who will be attending all three events.
At 17.30, the President will open the exhibition "Camões. Letras impressas (1572-2024)", organised by the General Library of the University of Coimbra (BGUC) and curated by José Augusto Bernardes, Professor at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the UC and former Director of the BGUC. The exhibition consists of a selection of works kept at the University of Coimbra, part of one of the most important Camões collections in Portugal.
At 6 p.m., there will be an academic ceremony in the Great Hall of Acts, with speeches by the UC Rector, Amílcar Falcão, the Commissioner for the 5th anniversary of the birth of Luiz de Camões, Rita Marnoto, the Mayor of Coimbra, José Manuel Silva, and the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
The inauguration of the exhibition and the academic ceremony are open to the public.