MEO Sudoeste Festival

The MEO Sudoeste Festival is one of the top festival in Portugal and takes place every year in the south of the country near to the Algarve during August.

Whether you are new to festivals in Portugal or are a seasoned pro, it is always a good idea to get some top tips from those who have been to the MEO Sudoeste Festival before to make sure you have the very best time possible and don’t miss out on any of the best bits!

1. Meo Sudoeste Festival tickets

As with all major events, it is a good idea to pick up your MEO Sudoeste Festival tickets as soon as possible. By buying your MEO Sudoeste Festival tickets early you can be sure that the event won’t sell out and also you can usually benefit from discounts and promotions before you go. If you are unsure what the line-up is for each day, then why not invest in a ticket for the entire event – then you can stay the whole time and never miss a thing!

2. Never miss an act

One of the biggest problems facing all festival goers is planning the time at the festival to be able to ensure that you see all of your favourite acts. You can download the MEO Sudoeste Festival app to help you with this or pick up one of the guides at the ticket offices when you arrive for a list of all the acts and all the times to be able to plan where you need to be and when.

3. Eat, drink and be merry

It can be a long night at a festival and you are going to need to stop to refuel along the way! At the MEO Sudoeste Festival there is a small food area where you can pick up fast food, snacks and even some traditional Portuguese dishes if you fancy it. The food is reasonably priced for a festival and often surprisingly tasty. And don’t worry about drinks – there are beer wagons almost everywhere you look selling draft local beer, cider, water, soft drinks and of course coffee – we are in Portugal after all!

4. Pick up a little something

If you want the world to know that you have been to the MEO Sudoeste Festival then stop by the official merchandising area where you can buy tops, hoodies and all sorts of bits and pieces. There are a few other little pop up stands and stalls at MEO Sudoeste Festival but this is not the place to come on a shopping spree!

5. Get something for nothing

Every year at MEO Sudoeste Festival you have the chance to pick up cool stuff for absolutely nothing! Look out for sunglasses, hats, t-shirts, headbands, inflatables and other stuff. The free stuff is usually available early doors before the sun goes down so look out for PRs wearing official t-shirts and holding bags and stock up on MEO Sudoeste Festival goodies for free!

6. Ride the wheel

The big wheel at the MEO Sudoeste Festival is perhaps one of the most iconic sites of the entire festival and you can see it for miles around before you even arrive. Get a birds eye view across the MEO Sudoeste Festival from the big wheel and make sure to have a go for a complete experience.

7. Prizes and competitions

When the doors open to the MEO Sudoeste Festival there are generally no acts playing so this is a good time to explore a little and to look out for the prizes and competitions going on. Usually the main sponsors will have stands where you can take part in games with everything from darts to bingo type games taking place and a chance to win a prize. As the evening draws on these areas get really busy so get there early if you want to try your luck.

8. Dance ‘til dawn

A night out in Portugal rarely finishes at night and the MEO Sudoeste Festival is no different! Get the most for your money and be sure to stay onsite until closing time around 6am! The dance tent area is where the music continues the longest and hard core festival goers are always still there. Even if your legs are no longer up for dancing, it is a great place to do a spot of people watching and listen to top DJs.

9. Visit the local area

If you are camping for the MEO Sudoeste Festival, which is included in the price of full MEO Sudoeste Festival tickets for free, then during the day when the music has stopped you can head into the local town of Zambujeira do Mar. Shuttle bus services run to take you along the road to explore this beautiful part of Portugal.

10. Save some water
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Perhaps the top tip for anyone travelling to and from the MEO Sudoeste Festival is to save some water in the car for the return journey. This is not for drinking (although save some for that too!) but instead for washing down the windows so that you can see out of them! The dust in the car park areas of the MEO Sudoeste Festival is legendary and after a couple of days your vehicle will be more dust than car so be ready to try and clean it off so you can eventually leave!

Music festivals in Portugal are one of the hidden perks of the summer season in the country and one of the best around has to be the MEO Sudoeste Festival, which takes place each year in August.
The festival is known for its fantastic weather, relaxed atmosphere and great bands and is held in southern Portugal near to Zambujeira do Mar which is about an hour or so away from the Algarve.
The MEO Sudoeste Festival first began back in 1997 and over the years some of the acts to grace the stages have included The Prodigy, Daft Punk, Blur, Muse, Calvin Harris, Marilyn Manson, Jessie J and David Guetta.
Generally the festival line up each year includes a good range of national Portuguese artists and international acts with a focus on all genres being covered so it doesn’t matter if metal is your thing or if you would prefer to be in the dance tent all night – there is sure to be an act that you will love during the festival.
MEO Sudoeste tickets are released way in advance of the full line up, which is usually only finalised a few weeks before the event itself, however it is a good idea to purchase your MEO Sudoeste tickets sooner rather than later to make sure that you have everything ready for the event in advance.
If you are travelling from overseas to Portugal then booking flights can often be cheaper if you do it months in advance, especially for the August period in the country when it is the peak tourist season. So book your MEO Sudoeste tickets today!
You can choose to buy MEO Sudoeste tickets either for a single day or for the entire festival and it is more cost effective to do it for all of the days as the price also includes camping – making this one of the cheapest festivals to go to in Portugal as all you need to bring is your tent and the accommodation is sorted for the week!
You don’t have to stay on site and there are other options available for those who are looking for glamping rather than festival camping with packages available when you buy your MEO Sudoeste tickets – but again it is a good idea to sort out all of this sooner rather than later if you want to be able to have the pick of the choices as by the time the MEO Sudoeste Festival comes around you will find lots of places are fully booked or will be charging a premium.
One you have your MEO Sudoeste tickets sorted then you can relax and wait to hear the line up as it is announced throughout the year.
While the line up is generally a mixture of styles the final day of the festival has recently been referred to as “D-Day” which means that it is the dance night with almost all of the acts on the main stage and of course in the dance tent being dance music – so bring your dancing shoes!
The MEO Sudoeste Festival is held in an enormous field and you can see it from miles around thanks to the giant big wheel that sits within it. The main area of the festival has the main stage at the far end for the biggest acts, a food area, bar areas, a second stage and a dance tent – and that is about it really!
There are not lots of shops and stalls because people who come to this festival come to enjoy the music on the whole.
Food and drink is very reasonably priced at MEO Sudoeste Festival, with alcohol being served, soft drinks and a choice of the usual fast food suspects and even a couple of gourmet food truck style options for those who are looking for something a little different.
Because the entire festival is held in a field in the summer in the south of Portugal you can imagine that this comes with some of its own problems. Basically you need to be aware that it can get very dusty. People in the dance tents use thin scarves to block out the dust from their faces and you need to be prepared for your clothes and shoes to be covered in the stuff. This is nothing compared to the cars in the free car park – where you can also choose to stay in your car for free if you like for the night after the festival.
Anyone going to the MEO Sudoeste Festival also needs to be prepared to be up all night – literally! The last acts in the dance tent finish at around 6am and then everyone is rounded up and sent to their tents or cars – there is nowhere else to go as the festival is literally in the middle of nowhere so make sure you have water and anything else you need back at the tent or the car so you can grab some sleep before heading home or doing it all over again the next day!
The MEO Sudoeste Festival is a festival that appeals to all ages and has a very international feel to it. You will have no problem if you don’t speak Portuguese and if you want to bring your flag from your home country and wave it about then feel free!
The MEO Sudoeste Festival has a truly relaxed feel to it and you are encouraged to sit back and enjoy the experience. There is plenty of security at the festival but it is understated and non-aggressive. We also have to mention toilets – it wouldn’t be an article about festivals unless this was included somewhere! There are a good amount of toilets, some porta loos and other toilets with sinks and mirrors etc which are cleaned constantly be staff so you don’t need to be afraid!
For a festival in the sunshine and close to the Algarve, choose to buy a ticket for the MEO Sudoeste Festival – it will be an experience you won’t forget!

THE EXCHANGE BY WRISTBAND IS MANDATORY FOR ALL FESTIVAL GOERS AND GUARANTEES ACCESS TO ALL FESTIVAL DAYS. THE EXCHANGE MUST BE DONE AT THE TICKET OFFICE PRIOR TO ENTRY.

Conditions
• It is prohibited to make audio or video recordings of all or part of the Festival. It is also forbidden to use of photo or video cameras.• People bringing bottles, cans or other objects that could be considered dangerous, may be required to leave the festival • For safety reasons, under the supervision of the competent authorities, all persons may be subject to review, and may be required to leave the festival and or their belongings may be removed if they are unauthorized.• If the date of the festival is changed for any reason, this ticket will be valid for a definite date.• In case of cancellation of the Festival, the entire valude of the ticket will be returned within 30 days at the place of purchase • No exchanges or refunds of tickets will be allowed.• The organization is not responsible for the validity of entries not acquired in selling official posts.• Programmes and performers are subject to change without notice, there will be no reimbursement for tickets if there is a disruption of the event and / or replacement of the program or activity at the festival, resulting from the occurrence of extraordinary or unpredictable nature of situation outside the control of the organizers.• This Festival will take place whatever the weather.• The holder of this ticket will lose their rights when leaving the festival area.• The organization appreciates the good behaviour of the attendants of the event.

Please note the following are not allowed:
Glass (bottles, food packaging, etc);
Domestic animals;
Professional cameras (removable lens);
Professional camcorders;
Helmets;
Weapons or objects that could serve as a weapon;
Pets

GPS COORDINATES

Lat. 37º33’9.72″
Long. -8º43’53.46″