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![Queima das Fitas [Burning of the Ribbons]:](https://www.cm-coimbra.pt/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/queima_1276x616_acf_cropped.jpg)
With an extensive programme of sporting and cultural activities, as well as several festivals and music concerts, the Queima das Fitas marks the end of the classes before the final exams and is the culminating of the students’ experience throughout the year. For the finalists, it is the farewell to the University and to student life, for the freshmen it is the official integration in the academy.
From the broad agenda of events, two should be highlighted: the Serenata Monumental [Monumental Serenade] and the Cortejo [Parade]. The Monumental Serenade, which takes place at Largo da Sé Velha [Sé Velha Square] marks the start of the festivities. It is a moment of great solemnity and commotion that begins after the bells strike 12, when one begins to hear the first guitar chords and the tuned voices of the students on the staircase of the Sé Velha [Old Cathedral] performing the Song of Coimbra.
The Parade is a festive demonstration of the academy, where students walk through the city streets in trucks coated with paper flowers, with the colours of the faculties, decorated with various elements of social satire and student claims.
The Queima das Fitas is a milestone in the life of any student of the Academy of Coimbra, as it marks the various stages of the university course, from the moment the student is admitted until they leave the University to enter the job market. These are days of conviviality and relaxation that mark the end of the school year.
During the Queima das Fitas, Coimbra lives a unique atmosphere of celebration and tradition. The students strengthen friendships, love relationships, share stories, and create experiences that will mark their lives forever. Every student who passes through Coimbra leaves a little of themselves behind, and takes a little of the city with them, which is also theirs. And Coimbra, which is so accustomed to seeing those who leave, but also those who arrive, remains a faithful guardian of so many memories and experiences that leaves a feeling of longing in everyone who passes by.