The upcoming celebrations on 20 August centre around one of the most magnificent buildings in Budapest: Saint Stephen’s Basilica. That is also where The Holy Dexter, the right hand of Saint Stephen, the first king of the Kingdom of Hungary, is kept.

In terms of spectators, the championship will be the largest sports event in Hungary of all time. Also, in the history of world championships in the sport, never before have so many athletes participated in a single event as they will now.

The Sziget Festival will last six days, until 15 August, on the Óbuda Island in Budapest. Performers from sixty-two countries will arrive at approximately forty venues, and the audience will come from over a hundred countries.

Spread across 76 hectares, this year’s festival was set up in three weeks. The maximum daily capacity is 90,000 people, including both festival staff and attendees, making Sziget the country’s tenth largest city for the six days of the festival. The main stage was constructed in ten days, with a floor area of over a thousand square metres and a six hundred square metre LED wall serving as its backdrop.

As every year, the Cake of Hungary is selected ahead of August 20, with those attending the holiday events being the first to taste the creations of Hungary’s best pastry chefs. The competition this year was won by the torte named Tipsy Fig Respectus of the Levendula és Kert (Lavender and Garden) cake shop from Szigetszentmiklós, located on Csepel Island. Essential ingredients of the cake include Aszú wine, figs and honey.

One of the main highlights of the evening will be starting the 1900 horsepower engine of the 66-year-old Il-14 passenger aircraft. In addition, visitors will have multiple opportunities to witness up close the operation of a small-sized jet engine, and the museum experts will turn on the engine of a legendary Kamov 26 helicopter as well.

‘The Ukrainian Puzzle: Hungary’s Perspective on a Changing Neighbour’ is a book that intends to present the Hungarian perspective on Ukraine to the Ukrainian and international public, arguing that this perspective has not changed ever since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1991. While it is hard to disagree with the main idea of the book, the methodology employed to convey it leaves something to be desired.

The central figure on one side of the medals is the emblem of the championships, Budapest’s renowned landmark, the Liberty Statue on Gellért Hill. The female figure is holding a palm frond aloft, symbolising determination, glory, and victory. In the foreground of the back of the medals is the brand-new National Athletics Centre, reminiscent of a crown for the queen of sports, with the track where the athletes will be competing visible in the background.

The World Championships are scheduled to take place at the National Athletics Centre from 19 to 27 August, with the road running and racewalking events hosted at Heroes’ Square. The international interest in the Budapest Athletics World Championships, starting on 19 August, is immense, with fans of the sport having purchased tickets from nearly a hundred countries.

After a lengthy period of uncertainty, it was decided that the final traffic arrangement for the bridge would be determined through a consultation process involving residents with a Budapest address. Among the questions posed, the most significant one concerned the future traffic arrangement for the bridge: whether to continue with buses, taxis, and cyclists, or to allow the return of private cars as well. In late June, Karácsony announced the results of the consultation, with 79 per cent of those who voted supporting the car-free option.

In August 1837, Pest’s first permanent, Hungarian-language theatre opened at the Astoria, with the performance of Hungarian poet Mihály Vörösmarty’s drama Árpád ébredése (The Awakening of Árpád)—this was the first period of the Pesti Magyar Theatre, which later became the National Theatre.

‘In fairness, to say that Washington, Brussels, and Budapest have some pre-existing policy disagreements is a laughable understatement. Nonetheless, the question remains: Why is Hungary growing closer to China as the West grows further away? The short answer is: it’s complicated.’

The Transcarpathian-Hungarian mathematician left the teacher’s pulpit behind to volunteer for the Ukrainian military.

The event series offers spectacular and exciting adventures for both young and old during the August meteor shower period. The programmes include telescope demonstrations, astronomical lectures, and meteor-watching sessions.

The Hungarian currency, the forint celebrates its 77th birthday on 1 August. But in reality, the forint’s history can be traced back to as long ago as the 1320s.

The company operating the airport said that the total annual passenger count measured so far is now only 9.4 per cent behind the record year of 2019, surpassing previous expectations.

According to the latest data from an online accommodation platform, the current volume of summer bookings in Hungary is still 19 per cent below last year’s record summer, and it falls just below the pre-pandemic level of 2019.

 ‘There are few Hungarian brands in the entertainment industry like the Sziget Festival, and we will forever be grateful to its founders for creating it. We are planning a grand celebration this year, which also signifies the beginning of a new era for us: we not only want to preserve the legacy of the past 30 years but also lay the foundation for the next 30,’ Tamás Kádár stated at a press conference in May.

‘The [Budapest Retro Interactive] museum demonstrates the triumph over communism through humour and satire. Far from making light of the oppressive regime or downplaying its existence, it derides it in displays that paint it as a farce when compared to the true freedom and prosperity Hungary has experienced since communism’s demise.’

The minister highlighted that Brussels has requested a further 98.5 billion euros in contributions from the member states, which is fifteen times the total annual personal income tax revenue in Hungary and roughly equals the entire annual Hungarian state budget.

Several baths will offer discounted entry fees and extended opening hours to accommodate those who want to swim and party, with some locations even staying open until three in the morning.

Deputy State Secretary for Higher Education at the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Innovation Veronika Varga-Bajusz talked about the challenges of preserving the identity of Hungarians beyond the border. She stressed the importance of creating opportunities for young Hungarians to study and work in their homeland, as it serves the development and strengthening of the Carpathian Basin. She stated that as long as there are knowledge-seeking Hungarian youths, there is a Hungarian future.

‘There was something about the past that could only be conveyed by being where it took place. Although I had already studied the horrors of the Holocaust and the Second World War, being in the actual face of such evil, in the literal place of it, shook me to my core.’

By replacing diesel-powered vehicles, Volánbusz’s electric fleet eliminates approximately 5,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to the annual carbon dioxide emissions of 2,000 passenger cars.

More than 100,000 spectators witnessed the 70-lap race of the 38th Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring. This marks a revenue record for the facility in its new era, Hungaroring CEO Zsolt Gyulay stated, adding that during the four-day race weekend, including the Thursday fan walk with the participation of 5,000 spectators, a total of 303,000 people visited the racetrack in Mogyoród, making it a record-breaking event in every aspect.

While Hungary has been declared to be the rule of law black sheep not only of the Carpathian Basin, but of the whole of Europe, Brussels has in fact found plenty of issues with other Members States as well in its annual report — only those are never highlighted by the EU bureaucracy or the mainstream media.

After the recent repeated defiling of the Úzvölgy military cemetery, Hungarians in Romania are now bracing themselves for another provocation in Tusványos.

The minister recalled that the Factory Rescue Programme was launched by the government following the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, to enable domestic companies to strengthen their independence from the highly unpredictable fluctuations of international energy markets and to preserve jobs and maintain economic performance.

Mihály Varga recalled that during the pandemic, it became evident that Hungary needed to increase its self-sufficiency in the health industry. Therefore, in 2020, the government launched the Healthcare Industry Support Programme, which, among others, has now facilitated Medicor’s investment.

Given the country profile of Hungary, it is a refreshing achievement that it has moved up a league to Moderate Innovators, even though its performance is 70.4 per cent of the EU average, below the category average, and its performance growth is also slower than the EU average.