Benfica Parade Returns to Avenida da Liberdade After 7-Year Hiatus!

Benfica Parade Makes a Comeback in 2025

After a seven-year absence, the Benfica Parade will return to the Lisbon Popular Marches competition in 2025. This announcement was made by the Benfica Parish Council and confirmed by EGEAC/Lisboa Cultura. Since 2018, the parish was represented by the Bairro da Boavista Parade, which first participated in 2016.

Image Credit: José Frade/EGEAC - Marcha de Alcântara

The Benfica Parade has a rich history, first competing in 1934 and boasting three victories (1935, 1940, 1989), along with a second place in 1950 and a third in its debut year. With this, it ranks as the seventh most awarded parade, ahead of Mouraria and Alcântara, the latter being the 2024 winner.

The reintroduction of the Benfica Parade will not change the competition's structure, as EGEAC/Lisboa Cultura assures that the top 17 parades from the previous year are automatically qualified for the next edition. Parades that finish in the last three positions will enter a lottery along with new applicants. In the last competition, Santa Engrácia, Baixa, and Belém finished in the bottom three and will face the lottery for 2025.

Regarding the rule limiting participation to one parade per parish, it only applies to new entrants. Each year, multiple parades from the same parish can participate, especially given the administrative reorganization in Lisbon.

The Benfica Parade will showcase its performance on June 1 at the MEO Arena, following the Bairro da Boavista Parade on May 30 at Parque das Nações. Traditionally, the parades march down Avenida da Liberdade on the night of Santo António, from June 12 to 13, with the Benfica Parade set to perform seventh in the lineup.

The Lisbon Popular Marches date back to 1932, when the first competitive marches were organized under the direction of José Leitão de Barros. The famous Santo António weddings were added to the festivities in 1958.