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Lusa - Business News - Portugal: Update on work in progress in Lisbon, Loures for World Youth Day event
Lisbon,June.1,2023(Lusa)-Two months away from what is considered the biggest event of the Catholic Church,some data on the progress of work on the grounds of Lisbon and Loures that will receive 1.5 million young people from around the world. The Portuguese capital will host the World Youth Day (WYD) from August 1 to 6, an event that will be attended by Pope Francis from August 2 to 6. +++ WYD main venue area +++ The main venue for the event, in the Tagus-Trancao Park (Lisbon and Loures), has an area of around 100 hectares (ha), equivalent to 12 football pitches and almost twice the area of the Vatican State (44 hectares). It is located in the area of the old Beirolas landfill, on the Tagus riverside, and is divided into 38 ha next to the mouth of the Trancão River, in Lisbon, and 75 ha of a long riverside strip, in Loures. It is in the Tagus-Trancão Park that the Vigil and the Final Mass will take place, presided by the head of the Catholic Church, on the 5th and 6th of August, respectively. +++ What is included in Tagus Park +++ 5,000 toilets, dozens of assistance tents and 60 multimedia towers with screens and speakers. One of the projects that was considered, but ended up being discarded by the Lisbon and Loures councils, was the placement of a military bridge, which would represent an investment of around one million euros, supported jointly by the two councils. To connect the two banks of the Trancao river a bicycle bridge is being built, under the responsibility of EMEL (Lisbon Mobility and Parking Company), representing an investment of €4.2 million. According to the coordinator chosen by the government for WYD, José Sá Fernandes, in an interview to Lusa news agency a fortnight ago, there will be no shade, sitting or resting areas. +++ The work in Loures +++ On the Loures side, some 870,000 pilgrims are expected in the approximately 75 hectares of land on the northern bank of the Trancão River. This venue will have 416 water points (a low ratio of water points per pilgrim), 90 sound points and 35 multimedia towers, from where the pilgrims furthest from the stage will be able to see the Pope and follow the ceremonies. As of today, the landscaping of the land and the installation of the water supply network are being completed, and the local authority expects to have these projects finished by 20 June. Afterwards, the placement of the provisional electric network will be carried out. The vice mayor of Loures, Sónia Paixão (PS), indicated that the investment estimate of around €10 million is maintained. +++ Lisbon work and the controversial altar stage +++ It is on the approximately 38 hectares of land belonging to Lisbon that the main infrastructures to support WYD will be installed, namely the stage altar. Two months before the event, the earth-moving and infrastructure work on the land has been completed and the construction of the altar stage is progressing "at a good pace", and is expected to be completed during the month of June, the deputy mayor of Lisbon, Anacoreta Correia (CDS-PP), told Lusa. The altar stage, of 3,250 square meters, was involved in controversy due to the construction cost, having been resized. Initially budgeted at €4.2 million, the altar stage now has an estimated cost of €2.98 million. Also on this side, the cycling bridge, the responsibility of EMEL (Lisbon Mobility and Parking Company), representing an investment of €4.2 million, should be completed within two weeks. A 25-hectare stage (equivalent to three football fields) will also be installed in Parque Eduardo VII, in Lisbon's city centre. This is where WYD-Lisbon2023 will officially start on the afternoon of August 1st. An opening Mass will be celebrated, presided by the host of the event, the cardinal patriarch of Lisbon, Manuel Clemente. It is also on this stage that the welcoming ceremony presided over by Pope Francis will take place on August 3. According to the city council, the construction site will be set up during the month of June to prepare this venue. Overall, Lisbon city council estimates to invest around €35 million in the tasks assigned to it. +++ WYD in Oeiras+++ Between 1 and 7 August various initiatives are planned with the volunteers who will take part in WYD. It is expected that 20,000 to 50,000 young volunteers will be in Oeiras each day. The high point is on 6 August, at the Algés Promenade, where the Pope will meet with the volunteers. According to the memorandum of understanding, approved in February by the Oeiras city council, the council commits to installing in this venue two stages, one "10 by 10 metres and the other 20 by 10 metres, an area for side choir", as well as the lighting of the venue and the delimitation and access to the site and other security structures. The investment, although not yet fully completed, is expected to be around €1.5 million. +++ Waste management plan for Loures +++ The management of the waste produced during World Youth Day is the responsibility of the local authorities of Loures and Lisbon. In the case of Loures, the city council has drawn up a waste management plan together with SIMAR (Inter-municipal Water and Waste Services), which includes the reinforcement of containers, vehicles and workers. The local authority intends to acquire 84 containers, with capacity for 2,500/3,000 litres, and distribute them throughout the 10 parishes of the council. Smaller waste containers have also been acquired to be placed in the area that will host WYD. Also in this scope, Loures city council will allocate 13 vehicles and mobilize 400 volunteers and more than 50 municipal employees. +++ Lisbon Waste Plan +++ Several parish mayors have expressed their concern regarding urban cleaning during the six days of WYD. In statements to Lusa, the vice-president of the Lisbon city council, Anacoreta Correia, recognized that the issue of waste is "one of the most challenging" for the organization of this event. The vice mayor estimates that during WYD Lisbon will have three times its resident population and warns for the need for services to be at their maximum capacity. "What I have told the workers is that it is the same as if we had six consecutive nights of St. Anthony's", she warned, stressing that "all resources" are being mobilised. +++ Reception in Loures +++ The local authority estimates that around 25,000 pilgrims will be welcomed in the district and will mobilise schools and pavilions for this purpose. At this moment, the Loures city council has registered 215 places for overnight pilgrims with a capacity, at this day, of 20,000 people. Earlier this month, the coordinator of the WYD organizing committee of the diocese of Lisbon, João Clemente, told Lusa that so far 4,500 families hosting pilgrims had been registered and 1,621 collective accommodation spaces had been identified. FAC/AYLS // AYLS Lusa Agency : LUSA Date : 2023-06-02 09:45:00
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