NOS Alive (formerly Optimus Alive! and Optimus Alive) is an annual music and arts festival held in the Algés riverside, close to Lisbon, in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

. It is organized since 2007 by the Portuguese live entertainment company Everything is New. Its naming sponsor is telecommunications company NOS (previously named Optimus). It takes place during the second week of July and lasts 3 or 4 days. It currently has six stages, including a stage dedicated to

fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre that can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado wa ...

music and a stage dedicated to

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

. The next edition is scheduled to take place between 6 and 8 July 2023.

History

The Alive festival was created by the live entertainment company Everything is New in 2007. The name of the festival is taken from the

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, ...

song " Alive". The first edition occurred between 8 and 10 June 2007, under the name "Oeiras Alive!", and had two stages. The headliners were

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chambe ...

and the Beastie Boys. In its second edition, the date of the festival was changed to the second weekend of July and the name of the festival was changed to include a naming sponsor. Between 2008 and 2010, the festival was named "Optimus Alive!", after the telecommunications company Optimus. A third stage was added in the 2009 edition. The 2009 edition was also the only edition to date to have a day dedicated to heavy metal music in the main stage, which had

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instru ...

as the headliner. In 2011, the exclamation mark was dropped from the festival name, and it became "Optimus Alive" until 2014. To mark its 5th anniversary, an extra day was added to the festival, making it a 4-day event in 2011. A new

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an orname ...

stage was added in 2012. In 2014 the naming sponsor company Optimus changed its name to NOS, and the festival name was changed accordingly to NOS Alive in 2015. A stage dedicated to

was also added in the 2014 edition. In 2016, a new stage dedicated to

music was added. The 2020 edition of NOS Alive was planned to happen between 8 and 11 July 2020, with

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...

Billie Eilish Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell ( ; born December 18, 2001) is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single " Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her brother Finneas O'Connell, with who ...

and

The Strokes The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio ...

as headliners. On 19 May 2020, the festival was cancelled due to the Portuguese government's decision to prohibit all large-scale events in the country until 30 September 2020, amid the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. Following this cancellation, NOS Alive '21 was scheduled to take place between 7 and 10 July 2021, with all tickets bought for 2020 valid for the new dates or refunded by request. In early May 2021, Álvaro Covões, CEO of Everything is New, expressed his doubts regarding the execution of the festival that year due to the continuing

. The festival was cancelled once again on 20 May 2021, with the tickets remained valid for NOS Alive '22.

Location

The festival takes place at the Passeio Marítimo de Algés, a riverside open-area close to the limits of the city of Lisbon. The nearest public transport stop is the Algés train station, which is part of the Cascais Line.

Editions

Media coverage

NOS Alive has a media partnership with the Portuguese public broadcaster RTP and the radio station Rádio Comercial. RTP provides coverage of the festival, including transmission of selected concerts, in their streaming platform RTP Play.

References

External links