At the Passeio Marítimo de Algés in Lisbon, the 18th edition of NOS Alive is running from 9 to 11 July with a daily capacity of 55,000. While music remains the main draw, the festival has introduced a dedicated Literary Stage — a space for books, writing, and storytelling that signals a broader cultural ambition among major Portuguese events.
Valter Hugo Mãe, whose novels include A Desumanização and O apocalipse dos trabalhadores, was among the first authors to appear. In conversation with broadcaster Ana Markl, he argued that literature is “profoundly humanising” and that “wherever we have books, we have hope.” He warned against dismissing such initiatives: “It is essential not to create prejudices about where this or that should belong, so that, ultimately, every place can be a place for books.”
Literature Meets Technology
Mãe also addressed the rise of artificial intelligence in creative fields. “New technologies are dazzling, but the problem comes when they propose a replacement for what we are,” he said. He questioned the value of machine-generated art: “What interest would I have in a beautiful love poem that a machine has invented for me? Isn’t a beautiful love poem always a form of relationship between someone who reads and someone who writes?”
The Literary Stage features a lineup of Portuguese writers across the festival’s three days. Friday includes Afonso Cruz, Luísa Sobral, and Pedro Boucherie Mendes; Saturday hosts Francisco Guimarães, Ana Bárbara Pedrosa, David Azevedo Lopes, and Hugo van der Ding. Attendees can buy books on site and have them signed, with free shipping home via a partnership with FNAC and CTT, the national postal service.
Festival-goers have welcomed the addition. Dulce Pinto told Euronews she “wasn’t expecting to find a little literary corner” and called it an “out of the box” initiative. Pedro Fernandes arrived early to catch Mãe’s talk, saying it “makes perfect sense” because literature “is also culture and art.”
This move reflects a broader trend in Portugal’s festival scene, where events increasingly diversify beyond music. NOS Alive already hosts stages dedicated to fado and comedy. The Literary Stage, organisers say, is a “space dedicated to books, writing and the power of stories.”
For context, Portugal’s cultural economy has seen notable growth: a recent report highlighted that Portugal leads Europe in scaleup growth, and the country’s tourism sector continues to expand, with music festivals playing a key role in attracting international visitors.
As Mãe put it, “Books are a symptom of humanity’s maturity. We are building something that it is absolutely essential not to let slip from our grasp.”
