Next year’s Carnival in Madeira will include two allegorical parades, with one held on Saturday night and the other on Sunday. A draw will determine which groups appear in the first parade and which take part in the second. The Trapalhão parade will still take place on Carnival Tuesday, and the authorities are considering stronger incentives to encourage participation, possibly involving private institutions of social solidarity (IPSS). The announcement was made by the President of the Regional Government, Miguel Albuquerque, while he was watching the Madeira Flower Classic Auto Parade in Funchal. He said the change is meant to address the large number of participants from the 14 participating groups, which makes the procession too long and causes spectators to grow tired and leave. Albuquerque noted that the same issue had already been identified during the Flower Festival parade, where splitting the event into two parades worked well this year. Accompanied by the Regional Tourism Secretary, Eduardo Jesus, he said the format had already proved successful and would help keep the public engaged throughout the celebrations.
