Dual Anniversary Celebrations at the Portugal 22nd International Citroën 2CV Meeting
30 years after the first meeting in Portugal, the friends of the 2CV have returned to the 22nd International Citroën 2CV meeting in Ericeira, the Portuguese city near the capital Lisbon, to celebrate the legendary and popular Citroën model.
The very last 2CV rolled off the production line on July 27, 1990 at precisely 4 pm not in Levallois, France, where production had ended in 1988 but in Mangualde, Portugal, where the 2CV line continued to produce cars until that day. (A total of 3,868,631 4 door sedans and 1,246,335 vans were produced.)
The last 2CV manufactured in Mangualde, Portugal.
The International Citroën 2CV meeting was first held in Finland in 1975 and has been held every two years in different countries. Since Ericeira had already been the venue in Portugal in 1987, the Portuguese 2CV Citroën Club campaigned heavily to have the 22nd meeting occur back in that country from July 26-31, 2017.
As the world’s largest 2CV gathering this year with more than 1,300 vehicles expected, the venue offers a varied program that includes a 2CV parade from Ericeira to the famous National Palace of Mafra, the largest castle and monastery complex in Portugal. And since the Citroën company is a participant and part sponsor of the event, they are striking a bridge between history and modernity with three new Citroën C3 vehicles taking part.
There is special Citroën 2CV Museum specially designed for this year’s meeting featuring numerous models, photographs, books and miniatures from the Conservatoire.
Some serious party planning made for festive evenings.
Rock n’ roll party with DJ Mário Valente.
Dj Pan Sorbe rocked this Party!
Also staged, aCultural Philharmonic with 45 musicians.
And of course no meeting would be complete without a competition to see who can be the quickest at disassembling and reassembling a 2CV engine.
The weather is cooler than expected this time of year, but for northerners traveling to Portugal that is being considered a welcome benefit over the typical intense heat.
During the 22th 2CV World Meeting in Ericeira, the election for the upcoming 2021 World Meeting was held. On Friday, July 28 all national 2CV Delegates of 26 countries were present and asked to vote for one the candidates; Switzerland, Italy and France that had submitted their interest to host the event. About 85 Percent of all votes went to Switzerland.
Swiss 24th “2CV World Meeting announcement.
The team of Croatia, elected two years ago to host the 23rd “2CV World Meeting in 2019 warmly welcomed the new team. They also thanked the organizers of this year’s Portugal “ACI Event Of the Year” under the project lead by Dr. Rogerio Soarez, ACI Delegate of Portugal, for the successful execution in Ericeira and their amazing effort which led to many wonderful memories during the last couple of days.
Here is a link to a beautiful photo galley of the event from Burton 2CV Parts: https://www.facebook.com/burton2cvparts/photos/a.1499026936824278.1073741843.127949507265368/1499047906822181/?type=3&theater
The event websites:
For 2017 – www.2cvportugal2017.pt
For 2019 – www.2cv.hr
For 2021 – www.2cv2021swiss.ch