Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony of IAMCR2010 will take place at Theatro Circo (Avenida da Liberdade - city centre) from 18:00.

Conference participants wishing to register can do that at the foyer of the theatre from 15:00.

All are advised to be at Theatro Circo at 17:30.

The ceremony will end with a music concert by portuguese jazz musicians Maria João and Mário Laginha.

Photo by stukinha

Maria João and Mário Laginha - concert

The opening ceremony will end with a special show by portuguese jazz musicians Maria João and Mário Laginha.
Those wanting to get a glimpse of what might happen on stage please see this performance of Maria João with Bobby Mcferrin (Burghausen 2002).


...Bobby, unfortunately, will not be joining us on this particular occasion...

For those arriving early...

Conference participants arriving at Braga on the 16th or on the 17th might like to attend a free choir open air concert at the magnificent Bom Jesus steps.
'Voices over the city' is the annual summer concert of the University's Academic Choir (Coro Académico da Universidade do Minho), and in this particular show they will combine their vocal talent with the music of a rock band.

Venue: Bom Jesus steps
Day: Saturday, 17th
Time: 21h30

How to get to Braga?

An IAMCR Conference reception team will be at the Oporto International Airport on the 17th and the 18th of July (between 8:00AM and 12:00PM) to assist you. During these two days participants and registered accompanying people will be able to access free bus services to their Braga hotels (departure times will be determined to best suit flight arrivals).

Participants wishing to travel autonomoulsy (or those arriving in different dates) have two alternatives:

1. Take a taxi from the airport to Braga. The journey will take aproximately 50 minutos and the cost (per car) will be around 60-70€.

2. Take regular public transports (see detailed information HERE).

University of Minho - the venue

The 2010 IAMCR Conference will take place at University of Minho's Braga Campus.
The university has an overall student population of 16.000 (2.000 doing postgraduate studies). The university has 1.200 teachers and 600 administrative and technical staff; The European Universities Association considered the university a case study in good practices at the European level. In the most recent evaluation process by the Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT), 19 out of 29 university Research Units were classified as ´Excellent´ or ´Very Good´ by international evaluation panels, making this one of the top universities in the country. The University of Minho has one campus in Braga and another one in the UNESCO world heritage city of Guimarães, some 20 km away.

The conference will take place in three buildings at the centre of the Braga Campus (Pedagogic Complex 1, Pedagogic Complex 2 and Pedagogic Complex 3).

Some general views of the Braga Campus:

Braga, the city

Braga is considered the third most important city in the country after Lisbon (capital) and Oporto.
The Portuguese Rome (an allusion to Braga's religious relevance in Iberia) is the main city of the Minho region which borders Galicia to the North and the Douro river (the world's oldest wine region - home to the production of Port Wine) to the South.
The closest international airport is Oporto, some 45Km from Braga city centre (40 minutes drive via highway). The closest Spanish international airport is Vigo at 100km also connected by highway. Lisbon airport is 350 km from Braga.

Lonely Planet Guide:
«Braga’s compact centre is packed with splendid baroque churches. Baroque churches, and the clamouring of their bells, are a constant reminder of who’s in charge here. Indeed, Braga has been a religious power centre since the conversion of the Visigoths in the 6th century. Its cathedral –built in the 12th century – is the oldest in Portugal.
But don’t come expecting piety alone: the pedestrian streets of the compact centre are lively with cafés and worldly concerns, and students from the Universidade do Minho add much youthful leavening».

Some pictures of the city centre: