Since 2007, the beaches of Porto, through the municipal company Águas e Energia do Porto, have been guaranteed the blue flag. This award is the responsibility of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), a non-governmental and non-profit organisation.

Since 2011, the Water Pavilion has been responsible for developing the annual programme of environmental education activities, which meets all the required criteria. This fulfils one of the fundamental requirements for flying the blue flag. Since the Water Pavilion is considered by the European Blue Flag Association (ABAE) as a privileged space for carrying out environmental awareness and education activities, it has been operating as a Blue Centre since 2012.

The main objective of the Blue Flag programme is to promote sustainable development in coastal, river and lake areas based on a set of criteria involving environmental education, bathing water quality, beach management, services and safety.
The Blue Flag is a symbol of quality awarded annually to beaches and marinas that distinguishes the efforts of various entities to enable local development to coexist with respect for the environment, raising awareness among citizens in general, and decision-makers in particular, of the need to protect the marine, coastal and lake environments and encouraging actions to resolve existing problems.

Each year, in line with the theme launched by the European Blue Flag Association (ABAE), the Water Pavilion draws up a calendar of activities for the public during the bathing season, inside the Water Pavilion and on the beaches of Porto. These activities are developed by environmental education technicians and partner entities that join in this cause of raising awareness.

For more information, visit the Blue Flag website.

Recognising the importance of promoting maritime heritage, Águas e Energia do Porto, EM has made the awarding of Blue Flag status to Porto's beaches one of its priorities. To this end, actions were promoted that led to the improvement of bathing water quality, the redevelopment of bathing areas and their surroundings, the enhancement of maritime ecosystems, the creation and reinforcement of support infrastructure (medical stations, showers, toilets, playgrounds, etc.), the promotion of environmental education and public participation initiatives, and the creation of accessibility conditions for people with reduced mobility.

As part of its responsibility for managing the seafront, Águas e Energia do Porto, EM has, over the years, adopted a set of management measures that have contributed to a significant improvement in the quality of bathing water in the municipality of Porto, namely: the elimination of illegal discharges of polluted rainwater and surface water; the consolidation of the strategy to connect all buildings to the public wastewater network, as well as daily monitoring of bathing water quality.

The Gold Quality award is given by Quercus - National Association for Nature Conservation to beaches that have had an excellent rating for water quality for five consecutive years, maintaining a good assessment of physical, chemical, biological and microbiological parameters.

For more information, visit the Quercus website.

The beach belongs to everyone! This is the motto of the ‘Accessible Beach - Beach for All!’ programme, whose main objective is to make Portuguese beaches increasingly accessible to everyone, regardless of their age and any mobility difficulties or other disabilities that may affect their mobility. This programme also aims to comply with accessibility legislation and wants more and more Portuguese beaches to ensure accessibility and services that enable everyone to use and enjoy them with equity, dignity, safety, comfort, independence and the greatest possible autonomy.

The award of the ‘Accessible Beach - Beach for All!’ distinction is dependent on compliance with a set of mandatory criteria, which include easy, obstacle-free pedestrian access to the beach, the existence of organised parking with spaces reserved for vehicles serving people with reduced mobility, a network of accessible paths on the beach allowing access to the sunbathing area, sanitary facilities and an accessible first-aid station, and the provision of information on accessibility conditions and support services available to people with reduced mobility.

The city of Porto has two beaches that have been awarded the ‘Accessible Beach - Beach for All!’ distinction: Homem do Leme and Carneiro beaches.

More details about the ‘Accessible Beach - Beach for All’ programme HERE.