Manuel holds a PhD in Sociology from the Instituto Universitário de Lisboa and is an Associate Researcher in Urban and Cultural Sociology at CIES-Iscte in Lisbon. He specializes in the socio-spatial transformations of urban spaces through culture-led events, particularly at night. His research critically explores how the eventification and touristification of cities reshape emotional and spatial relationships, generating socio-affective narratives that challenge conventional urban governance and public policies. 
 
Manuel focuses on the intersection of culture and tourism, with a particular emphasis on proximity tourism, examining how the commodification of the arts drives nighttime economies and spatial experiences. 
 
Manuel has published extensively in tourism studies, cultural sociology, experiential economies, and Night Studies. He founded and coordinated the International Night Studies Network (INSN) and is the fieldwork coordinator at LXNIGHTS Research Group.

ABSTRACT

Title: Spectacularized Nocturnality: The Eventification and Touristification of the Night Through Culture-Led Massive Events

In recent decades, the night has been increasingly instrumentalized within urban strategies aimed at its economic and symbolic valorization. This process, driven by policies of urban regeneration and tourist attraction, has led to the eventification and touristification of the nocturnal landscape through festivals, light spectacles, and other ephemeral activations. This presentation will analyze the effects of these events on the construction of new nighttime narratives, the appropriation and re-signification of urban spaces, and the emerging tensions between the commodification of the night and its pre-existing social uses. Drawing from an ethnographic and comparative approach, the discussion will explore cases from various global cities, highlighting how the spectacularization of nocturnality reshapes the relationship between culture, economy, and territory within the context of aesthetic capitalism.