Far from being exclusive to bikers or bike-aficionados, the annual Faro Bike Rally now has as many conventional visitors as it has non-conventional followers.

In fact it is embraced by locals who look forward to seeing the huge mass of bikes invade the city’s streets and are genuinely fond of their leather-clad riders. Few disturbances have been reported due to the bike meet and last year no road fatalities were related to the event.

People of all ages and backgrounds visit the rally’s expansive site, which is situated between Faro Airport and Faro Island.

Located a little over a kilometre from Faro Airport, the noise generated at the camp site by the tens of thousands of bikes easily drowns out the noise made by jets landing and taking off. It does, however, also create a certain amount of chaos and people needing to travel to Faro Airport on those days are encouraged to set off earlier than usual.

Every night will feature live entertainment, which along with the popular bike displays and infamous wet T-shirt competitions, this year features bands ranging from Italian Iron Maiden tribute band ‘Children of the Damned’ to Lisbon school St. Dominic’s choir and popular Portuguese singer David Fonseca.

There is a large open-air market offering everything from Moroccan accessories and top-of-the-range bike equipment to tattoos and piercings, along with a large open-air arena area where the main stage and eateries are.

This year concerns were raised when instructions were given for the rally’s traditional layout to be changed and subsequently a large part of the camping area and the fair have been relocated to a new position due to territorial legalities. Entrance to the market is free, while tickets cost €40 for those looking to set up tents for the duration of the event.

This year is the 28th consecutive year that Moto Clube de Faro has organized the increasingly successful event.

On Sunday July 19th the annual closing parade will take place, when the thousands of bikers pass through the streets of Faro to bid farewell for another year.

Faro Airport car hire