The celebrations in Lisbon of the Lunar New Year, an important Chinese holiday, will be held online this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic, TimeOut reported last week.

The Portuguese edition of the magazine says the programme for celebrations to be put on by the Chinese Embassy in Lisbon and the local government will be posted online on Thursday.

The report quotes Chinese Cultural Attaché in Lisbon Li Ji as saying performances by artists in mainland China, Portugal and Macao will be on the programme.

Even though the usual parades and other activities outdoors will be missing this year, traditional red lanterns will be hung in several of the streets of Lisbon, the report says.

The Lunar New Year celebrations are important for Chinese living in Lisbon, who form a prominent foreign community in the city, TimeOut quotes the local secretary-general, Alberto Laplaine Guimarães, as saying.