Portugal's Event Industry Hit by Severe Labor Shortage, Many Bookings Cancelled

Demand for event‑related services in Portugal continues to rise sharply, but a shortage of staff is preventing companies from meeting the market. A Fixando survey found that 44 % of professionals have already refused or limited events because they cannot find workers or suppliers, and 71 % of more than 30,000 service requests since the start of the year have gone unanswered.

Eight‑y‑three percent of respondents say they struggle to locate labour, with 58 % experiencing the problem frequently. The hardest positions to fill include event support staff, drivers, assemblers, transporters, cleaners, musicians, sound technicians, child entertainers and even saxophonists or violinists. To cope, 72 % of firms resort to occasional subcontracting for music, catering, photography, audio‑visual, structure assembly, transport and security, yet they still face limited availability and high prices.

The shortage is driving higher operating costs, thinner profit margins, overloaded teams, event delays and difficulties maintaining quality. Specific services such as tuxedo rentals, event‑space hire, seamstresses, limousine hire and tent rentals show especially acute scarcity. Alice Nunes, director of New Business at Fixando, warned, “Today, the problem of event companies is no longer finding clients, it’s finding professionals.”