Hundreds of programmes await visitors in Budapest on 20 August, the feast day of Saint Stephen, the king who founded the Hungarian state. This year will again feature the Festival of Folk Arts in the Buda Castle, the Hungarian Flavours Street, pop and rock concerts, and the Karmelita monastery will once again be open to visitors, with the Open Parliament programme also taking place. During the day, those interested can watch an air show over the Danube, while in the evening the fireworks will be displayed as part of an audiovisual show.
As the traditional opening of the day’s events, the flag-raising ceremony at Kossuth Lajos Square in Budapest begins at 8 a.m., followed by the public oath-taking of newly graduated officer cadets from the National University of Public Service.
In the evening, a programme on Kossuth Square called Diszkótér will begin, with the light painting of the Parliament building serving as its special visual element. On Thursday, as part of the Open Parliament programme, the Parliament building will open its gates to the general public free of charge and without prior registration.
Also free of charge, but requiring registration, the Karmelita monastery in the Buda Castle — the former prime ministerial building — will be open to visitors over the long weekend.
On Margaret Island, family programs and concerts await visitors. In the morning, attendees can enjoy an interactive circus playhouse, skill-based and family games, creative activities, and programs by civil organizations. From 4 p.m., the main stage will host Deva, Random Trip LGT Special, and the Boban Marković Orkestar as part of the Sziget Beats program series, with the evening closed by concerts from Quimby and Infragandhi.
Alongside the concerts, the Rose Garden will open as the Fénykert after dark.
In Városliget, the Hungarian Defence Forces will present a military technology display on Thursday and Friday. In addition to the military equipment, visitors can explore a naval history exhibition, an interactive mobile mine-detection terrain table, communications equipment, a laser tag course, laser gun target shooting, airsoft weapons, a shooting simulator, and a mobile obstacle course. Both days will also feature an explosives disposal dog demonstration and a military close-combat display.
In addition to Kossuth Square and Margaret Island, concerts will also take place on Műegyetem rakpart: on 19 August, Captain Knuckles, a well-known figure from the Budapest underground scene, will open the lineup, followed by Sobek and Daniel Moritz, with Carl Craig — one of the pioneers of Detroit techno — taking the stage at 8 p.m. Nina Kraviz, the Siberia-born DJ, will perform from 10 p.m., with Sikztah closing out the night.
On 20 August, DJ Reload will open the programme at Műegyetem at 5 p.m., followed by German artist Christian Löffler taking the stage at 8 p.m. After the evening’s audiovisual show, one of the defining duos of Berlin’s electronic music scene, Modeselektor, will perform, with the night closing out with the LavaLava duo, Tolo and Falcao.
The Holy Right procession traditionally sets off following the festive Mass celebrated in front of St. Stephen’s Basilica.
The Mass will be celebrated and the procession led by Bishop Gábor Mohos, parish priest of St. Stephen’s Basilica; Cardinal Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, will be present and will concelebrate at the ceremony.
According to the government, the large-scale half-hour light show beginning at 9 p.m. will also include a fireworks display, shorter than in previous years.
The 20 August series of events will be held using less than one third of the previously planned budget, within a simpler, more rational and cost-effective organisational framework, the government announced. According to Ervin Nagy, State Secretary responsible for culture, the Tisza government is delivering the 20 August festive programme series for just 4 billion forints, compared to last year’s cost of 17.5 billion forints.
The detailed programme of the celebrations is available at www.augusztus20.hu.
Artificial intelligence was used for the translation of parts of the original Hungarian text.
