Major events
The Sziget Festival
The Sziget Festival, held annually in Budapest, has emerged from being a comparatively low-key student event to a real international rock and cultural festival, with visitor numbers tallying to 385,000 in 2005, up from a mere 43,000 back in 1993, it's first year in existence.
It takes place on the Óbudai-sziget (Old Buda Island), a vast natural territory with many trees and large meadows. Starting in the beginning of August (when the weather is usually very nice in Budapest), and it usually lasts 5-7 days.
The Budapest Spring Festival
The Budapest Spring Festival is one of Europe’s largest cultural festivals, with about 200 events a year, with a combined attendance of about 200,000. Organised in the last two weeks of March, it features symphony orchestra concerts, opera and ballet performances, an operetta festival and open-air events.
The performances are held in Budapest’s most important theatres and concert halls, most of which are historic monuments.
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The Formula 1
One of the major events in the summer in Budapest is the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix, which takes place annually in August, at the Hungaroring race track in Mogyoród, located 19 kilometres from Budapest. The track lies in a natural valley, and uniquely, 80% of the track is visible from any point of the grandstand, which is why it is dubbed „Shallow Plate”.
The Hungarian Grand Prix attracts many visitors to Budapest, mainly from Germany, Austria and Finland. Many compare the track to the one in Monaco, because of its tight twists and turns. They say that some of the most exciting races in the history of Formula 1 take place on the Hungaroring, due to the timing in August, the limited opportunities for overtaking and the tight turns.
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Budapest Christmas Fair
The traditional Budapest Christmas Fair is organized annually between the end of November and December 24th on Vörösmarty tér, one of the most attractive central squares of the city. The event has grown to be one of the top Christmas fairs of Europe, and a major off-season tourist attraction of Budapest.
The fair features a number of musical and cultural events on stage. The windows of the famous Gerbeaud Café are transformed into an Advent Calendar, revealing one of the 24 works of art of Hungarian contemporary artists every day. All products on sale are made from natural ingredients only, and the quality and the origin of these are rigorously checked by a jury.
New Year’s
New Year’s Eve is a lot of fun everywhere, and this is especially true in Budapest. Most restaurants, clubs and discos are open all night, arranging special programmes, or renting the venue to groups of friends or companies. The streets in the downtown area are full of people, blowing trumpets and throwing confetti at everyone and at everything that moves. The best street parties of Budapest during a New Year’s Eve are around the area of Váci utca and the Danube Promenade, with cheerful crowds of locals and tourists.
Summer on the Chain Bridge
The Chain Bridge, one of Budapest’s most important symbols, is closed for vehicle traffic every Saturday and Sunday between the 23rd of June and the 12th of August, giving way to pedestrians, bikers and families. The best Hungarian artists and craftsmen offer their goods, and not just to tourists.
On both ends of the bridge, hospitality centres are set up under large sunshades, with international and typical Hungarian foods and cold drinks on sale.
The Budapest Fringe Festival
The Budapest Fringe Festival is a side-runner to its core festival, the two-week-long Budapest Spring Festival.
It is held regularly since 2006 on the last two days of the Budapest Spring Festival, and its role is to provide a platform for less known or underground artists both from Hungary and abroad.
