In 2024, the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden reached a milestone, welcoming over 1.1 million visitors at its City Park location—the highest since 2003. Including the Margitsziget Petting Zoo, the total attendance soared to over 1.3 million, reflecting remarkable growth.

Hungary’s new reintegration project aims to help prisoners successfully rejoin society. With over 835 participants already engaged, the initiative offers vocational training, rehabilitation, and support to reduce reoffending and foster social inclusion.

Hungary Helps, a humanitarian aid programme launched by the Hungarian government in 2017, has recently funded the construction of a new church at the site of Jesus Christ’s baptism by the Jordan River in Jordan. Hungary Helps focuses on oppressed Christians in the Middle East.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed its first deep-space data acquisition agreement with Hungary’s Puli Space Technologies. Their miniaturized neutron spectrometer, the Puli Lunar Water Snooper, will map lunar water ice concentrations on a historic mission.

The School in the Forest programme saw overwhelming interest, closing its registration within a day. This spring, 30,000 primary school students across Hungary will engage in forest education activities, focusing on sustainability and the wonders of soil.

‘Few things better illustrate the antisemitic recycling of certain Jewish concepts than the quote attributed to Dezső Szabó, “Every Hungarian is responsible for every Hungarian.” Of course, a reader with some knowledge of Jewish tradition will immediately recognize the Talmudic origin of this quote: “kol Yisrael arevim zeh bazeh,” which means, “All of Israel are responsible for one another.”’

From mesmerizing operas to energetic dance performances and family-friendly musicals, the Margaret Island Open-Air Theatre promises an exciting 2025 season from May to September, catering to audiences of all ages.

The Hungarian communication space has become heavily reliant on social media, with platforms like Facebook shaping public discourse. A recent Media Authority study analysed three million posts between 2021 to 2024, revealing key trends in online engagement and content dynamics.

At the 67th annual M4 Sport Athlete of the Year Gala, Olympic gold medalist swimmer Hubert Kós won Best Male Athlete of the Year, Olympic gold medalist pentathlonist Michelle Gulyás won Best Female Athlete of the Year; while the Best Team of the Year award was given to the Women’s Handball National Team, which came in third at the European Championship in December.

The University of Debrecen’s Faculty of Informatics is collaborating with Florida and Seoul Universities to develop a digital twin framework for improving road safety, traffic efficiency, and autonomous vehicle testing, supported by a HU-rizont programme grant.

Trump’s emphasis on national interests enables Hungary to prioritize its own, Balázs Orbán, the Hungarian Prime Minister’s political director, noted during a high-profile panel discussion held in Vienna, Austria on Sunday. The panel featuring international experts focused on the potential impact of Donald Trump’s second presidency on the future of Europe.

The United States has long given up any intent for territorial expansion. Incoming President Donald Trump, however, is bringing the spirit of ‘Manifest Destiny’ back to the White House, and is already making progress on making the acquisition of Greenland a reality.

Müpa Budapest will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a two-day cultural extravaganza on 15–16 March. The event promises a rich programme of classical and jazz concerts, contemporary dance, new circus performances, and family-friendly activities.

FILMIO, the streaming platform of Hungary’s National Film Institute (NFI), achieved remarkable growth in 2024. User engagement soared by over 20 per cent, with the platform introducing exciting new content, including classic restorations and new releases.

The Törley brand stands for excellence in Hungary, thanks to the high-quality sparkling wine that has been produced for almost 150 years now in the Budafok factory once owned by the Törley family.

‘The lapwing, the iconic bird of the wetlands of the Great Plain, has come back, which is also a kind of mirror. Where it subsists, things are fine; where it disappears, there is trouble.’

This little known case of Hungarian Israeli Rabbi Ottó Komlós not only provides insight into how the Hungarian Communist intelligence services viewed Israel’s most important Holocaust museum and its Hungarian employee, but also highlights the clumsiness of the covert activities of Kádár’s state security services in the early 1960s in Israel.

The Nyíregyháza Zoo has achieved a major milestone in wildlife conservation with the birth of twin Sumatran tiger cubs. This critically endangered species, with only 400–500 individuals left in the wild, marks a triumph in a decade-long breeding programme.

Researchers at the University of Szeged’s Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School are pioneering the development of technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory diseases. Among other projects they are working on a new, portable respiratory function measuring device, also suitable for home use, for the diagnosis of respiratory diseases.

Hungary’s Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky introduced a groundbreaking sport reality series co-created by the Ministry of Defence and TV2 at a recent press conference. The television show will offer viewers an inside look at military training, personal challenges, and the transformative power of camaraderie.

The Texhibition celebrates its tenth anniversary with a rich programme showcasing Polish textile art, music-inspired creations, and a retrospective of a decade’s achievements. The exhibition runs at Budapest’s FUGA from today until 19 January .

Katinka Hosszú, Hungary’s ‘Iron Lady’ and three-time Olympic swimming champion, announced her retirement at age 35. Reflecting on an extraordinary 30-year career, she shared her journey’s highlights and the lessons learned from her life in the pool on social media.

Companies in the hospitality industry can now apply to the Hungarian Tourism Agency’s Priority Partners programme, organized by Visit Hungary. Successful applicants will receive valuable perks, such as a 50 per cent discount on the application fee for tourism sales programmes run by Visit Hungary; and participation in B2B activities such as webinars, roadshows, and workshops. Applications are open until 27 January.

A recent survey by the Mária Kopp Institute reveals widespread public support for Hungary’s new economic action plan. Policies like housing assistance, a permanent 13th month pension, and doubled family tax benefits are seen as vital by the majority of respondents.

A video shared by American journalist Colin Rugg on X has gone viral, showing a stray being the first to rush across the Hungarian-Romanian border at an event celebrating the full incorporation of Romania into the Schengen Area on 1 January 2025. Romania and Bulgaria became the full members of the Schengen Area under the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU.

A recent study by Hungary’s National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH) highlights the influence of media, tabloids, and women’s magazines on shaping unrealistic body image expectations for women. The findings reveal troubling trends in content and visual representation.

Donald Trump and Grover Cleveland are the only two presidents in US history to have been elected to non-consecutive second terms. However, as it turns out, it is not the only thing the two statesmen serving in the highest office in the land have in common.

Hungary’s largest career and education event, the EDUCATIO International Exhibition, opens this Thursday, offering students inspiring university exhibits, scholarship programmes, and career opportunities.

In 2024, over 50 films supported by Hungary’s National Film Institute debuted, including 13 in cinemas and more than 40 on television. The NFI-sponsored productions attracted over 575,000 viewers in film theatres.

To celebrate the reopening of the Hangdóm, Hungary’s House of Music is hosting an audiovisual festival from 14 to 19 January. Featuring premieres, returning favourites, and artist discussions, the programme showcases cutting-edge 360-degree films and installations.