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NOS Alive 2019: Music festival becomes ‘world’s first’ to offer safe viewing space for pregnant women

‘It's a unique opportunity for new mothers who love music to help make their festival experience the best one’

Sabrina Barr
Monday 01 July 2019 14:50 BST
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Festivalgoers at NOS Alive Festival in Lisbon, Portugal
Festivalgoers at NOS Alive Festival in Lisbon, Portugal

A music festival in Portugal has announced it is providing a safe viewing space for pregnant women, which it claims is the "world's first" at an international festival.

This year, NOS Alive Festival's star-studded lineup of musicians includes the likes of Grace Jones, Jorja Smith, Robyn, Loyle Carner, The Cure, among others.

Ahead of the start of the festival, which is due to take place this year from Thursday 11 July to Saturday 13 July, the organisers of the event have announced that a viewing platform has been created especially for pregnant festivalgoers so that they can enjoy the music in comfort.

"At NOS Alive we are proud to introduce the world's first viewing platform for pregnant women at an international festival," says Álvaro Covões, senior booker and CEO of the festival.

"It's a unique opportunity for new mothers who love music to help make their festival experience the best one."

Covões adds that pregnant women shouldn't feel as though they cannot enjoy music festivals simply because they are expecting a baby.

"Why should you compromise your lifestyle in any way when you're pregnant in this day and age?" Covões says.

"If you'd like to go to see your favourite bands this summer when expecting, you can do so with total ease and comfort at our event in Lisbon."

Pregnant attendees of NOS Alive Festival can book a free place on the viewing platform by following this link.

The viewing platform faces the main stage, where crowds of 55,000 people will watch some of the biggest names in music perform, including Bon Iver, The Chemical Brothers and Gossip.

Comfortable seating will be available in the viewing space, in addition to cushions and blankets.

Furthermore, a team of nurses will be on call in the area should any of the pregnant women require medical assistance

Last year, NOS Alive Festival signed the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The introduction of the safe viewing platform for pregnant women at the festival matches with the fifth goal on the agenda – the goal to "achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls".

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Last year, NOS Alive Festival introduced plastic-free beer cups on site and used renewable energy to power 90 per cent of the site.

The festival also printed the UN's sustainability goals on tote bags and refused to run a volunteer scheme, instead opting to ensure that members of the local community were hired in paid positions.

To read about the best music festivals in Europe – including NOS Alive in Lisbon, Mad Cool in Madrid and Oya in Oslo – click here.

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