Society

This year's Open House included guided tours to 70 venues in the cities of Porto, Matosinhos, and Vila Nova de Gaia. In the city of Porto, the most visited building was Porto City Hall, with 1.408 visitors. This edition attracted the biggest crowds with 37.578 visitors joining the event, making this one of the most popular Open Houses ever. These events are free of charge.

The President of the Municipal Assembly of Porto, Miguel Pereira Leite is in Bangkok to take part in the Sister Cities Week 2019. The mission of such an event is to create bonds between different cities all around the world. The Municipality of Porto is represented at the highest level by the President of the Municipal Assembly to build partnerships and contribute to people-to-people interaction, namely regarding cooperation arrangements.

Monocle's July/August 2019 issue, number 125 writes about lively hubs, i.e., cities where "life needn't be overpriced, overwhelming drudge", and one such city is Porto. The Invicta is among the best cities in the world to call home, as it offers "the perfect mix of businesses, brands and people building better neighbourhoods", according to Monocle.

The 28th edition of "Jazz no Parque" ["Jazz in the Park", free translation] kicks off on 6 July and runs until 20 July. Performances by Pedro Melo Alves' in igma, Fail Better! & Théo Ceccaldi and Ácidos & About Angels and Animals are confirmed for 6, 13 and 20 July, respectively. The shows are scheduled to take place from 6pm till 8pm.

On the morning of 25 June, the Mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira hosted his counterpart, the Mayor of Shanghai, Ying Yong. The main purpose of this visit was the signing of a MoU to support cultural cooperation projects and tourism between the two cities.

The confectionary that won the "Delícia do Porto" ["Porto Confectionary", free translation] is inspired by the cultural roots of the city and the passion that its maker, Gabriela Ribeiro, has by convent confectionery.

On 28 June, the second session of "Ambiente em Família" municipal programme organises "Nights with bats" special edition at the Gardens of Palácio de Cristal. The CEA - Environmental Education Centre is in charge of the organisation, which will be set up by Luzia Sousa of the Rectory of the University of Porto.

São João in Porto brings great orchestral music to Aliados at 5pm, as is tradition, with the Concert of São João featured by the Portuguese Symphonic Band.

São João is celebrated on 24th June, but the party begins today, 23 June. Crowds gather all over town to honour São João. There is food, wine, dancing and merriment. Join the party by trying your hand at some traditional folklore dancing in town.

Tiago Campante, former student and professor at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP) and researcher at the Astrophysics Institute and Space Science (IA) is part of the team of scientists that was invited to the Better Stars, Better Planets: Exploiting the Stellar-Exoplanetary Synergy Programme, at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, in Santa Barbara, USA.