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More than 200 world-famous artists from four continents will perform and compete in five different program blocks at the Budapest Grand Circus at the 16th Budapest International Circus Festival, held between January 7 and 12, 2026.
On the occasion of the event early next year, the National Circus Arts Center and the Hungarian Museum of Technology and Transport cooperated to lift a more than 100-year-old, operational steam locomotive in front of the city park institution on Friday, which will stand in the square in front of the Budapest Grand Circus for two months.
The goal of the cooperation between the two cultural institutions is to draw attention to the values of Hungarian culture and the importance of knowledge and innovation, it was announced at the press conference on December 12.
Péter Fekete, the general director of the National Circus Arts Center, highlighted at the event that the Budapest Grand Circus is 136 years old, exactly the same age as the train placed in front of the institution.
Photo: MTI/Balogh Zoltán
"With the steam locomotive, we are sending a message to the world that Budapest is the locomotive and driving force of the world's circus arts, since the renewal process that circus arts are producing in Budapest has a significant impact on the world's circus arts" - he highlighted.
The Budapest International Circus Festival arrives with fantastic productions
The Budapest International Circus Festival, which is held every two years and is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year, is one of the most significant professional circus arts events in the world and the second largest event of its kind in the world after the Monte-Carlo International Circus Festival - the general director emphasized, then drew attention to the fact that this sector, which previously belonged to the entertainment industry, has now been able to fit into the "high arts".
The director general highlighted that top productions are arriving in almost every genre. Two performances from China will be staged in Budapest that have never been seen before in the world, including a floor acrobatics act, as part of which 18 artists will somersault on the floor; and during an American production, the audience will be able to see a special aerial acrobatics act - he listed.
Péter Fekete said that five different shows will be staged during the festival, the top production will be the introduction of Hungarian artists on Saturday.
"We would like as many managers and directors as possible to see Hungarians and offer good contracts to domestic artists," he emphasized.
Domonkos Schneller, director general of the Hungarian Museum of Technology and Transport, spoke at the event about how the event will help maintain the museum's visibility, since the museum's main building has not been open to the public for almost ten years.
"It is very important that we can meet our own audience on the streets, in the squares and at various festivals," he explained, citing as an example the project called Mozgó Múzeum, within the framework of which Ikarus buses appear on the streets of Budapest, or in the Valley of Arts, where the audience could also meet a musical bus.
The locomotive on display, with track number 326, was made at the end of the 19th century and served for 90 years until the end of the 1970s - said Domonkos Schneller, who also reported that there are four other examples of this type of locomotive in Hungary: one in Debrecen, one in Kápolnásnyék, and two in Budapest.
Source: MTI.hu
Photos: MTI/Balogh Zoltán
