On 28 December, Braga will formally hand over the title of Portuguese Capital of Culture to Ponta Delgada, in a ceremony attended by the Minister for Culture, Youth and Sport, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, the Mayor of Braga, João Rodrigues, and the Commissioner for Ponta Delgada 2026, Kátia Guerreiro. The event will take place at 5.00 pm at the emblematic Theatro Circo, bringing together the community, cultural stakeholders and the general public.
The Closing Ceremony marks the official end of a landmark year in the city’s cultural life, not as the conclusion of a journey, but rather as a moment of celebration of a collective path that will continue to leave a lasting legacy in Braga. Throughout 2025, the city established itself as a vibrant stage for a diverse artistic programme, involving artists, institutions and citizens, and strengthening its position as a national cultural reference. The session aims to revisit the most significant moments of the year, acknowledge the contributions of all those who made this project possible, and look ahead to the future of culture in the city.
The ceremony will also feature an artistic performance bringing together Ent’Artes – Escola de Dança, from Braga, and Estúdio 13, from Ponta Delgada, two artistic organisations from the Portuguese Capitals of Culture. This collaboration places artists from both cities in dialogue, intertwining the rich traditions of Minho and the Azores. The performance, entitled Entre Pedra e Bruma (Between Stone and Mist), draws inspiration from the legends and traditions of Braga and Ponta Delgada, proposing a dialogue between solidity and fluidity, between tradition and imagination. In the stone resound faith and memory; in the mist, the breath of mystery and emotions that dissolve over time.
This will also be a moment for an initial, though still partial, assessment of Braga 25. By the end of October 2025, the programme had included around 1,200 activities, encompassing training, capacity-building, mediation and participatory actions. Within this programme, 253 performances and 95 exhibitions stand out, engaging almost 1.5 million spectators—figures that do not include major public-space events such as the Opening Programme, Braga Romana or Noite Branca. Over the course of this journey, around 1,200 artists were involved, half of them local and 19% international, reflecting both a strong local grounding and an openness to the wider world.
Tickets for the ceremony may be collected free of charge from the Theatro Circo box office from 11.00 am on 26 December, with a limit of two tickets per person.