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The vote failed yesterday after the representatives of the Tisza Party and Fidesz abstained, according to a report by news site Telex.
“There will be no revenue for the city, the national economy will lose tens of billions of forints, and Budapest residents will lose their discounts. None of this will happen because the two largest city factions, Tisza and Fidesz, decided this way. Today’s City Assembly differs from previous ones in that it has now caused tangible damage to Budapest,” Karácsony wrote.
He added that lessons must be learned from “what all this says about responsibility, governability, humility, expertise, trust, and, in general, about the future of this city and this country.”
Krisztina Baranyi, mayor of Budapest’s District IX, was more blunt in her reaction, writing on Facebook: “Tisza killed the Sziget Festival.”
The Tisza Party released a statement blaming Karácsony for putting the festival’s future at risk. “The mayor proved today that he does not truly care about Budapest’s functionality, the protection of public funds, or even the future of the Sziget Festival – only about serving political backroom deals and private interests,” the statement said.
The party said it had submitted “a concrete, compromise proposal containing guarantees” that would have ensured the future of the Sziget Festival while maintaining Budapest’s financial stability, but Karácsony did not allow it to be put to a vote.
According to Dávid Vitézy, the leader of the Podmaniczky Movement in the assembly, the failure to pass the proposal means “we are now dramatically closer” to a situation where the festival will not take place next year.
However, he added that it is still too early to bury Sziget: “The public space usage agreement is still valid for next summer, and there is still some hope that we can find a solution.”
In his post, Vitézy also emphasized the mayor’s responsibility. He said that instead of “inciting” his followers against those who did not support the proposal, Karácsony should be “thinking clearly and looking for solutions.”
“If there is even a one percent chance to save Sziget, we should take it,” he wrote.
The future of the Sziget Festival became uncertain after its foreign owner announced plans to withdraw from the Hungarian market earlier this fall. The festival had initiated the termination of its lease agreement with the city. The festival’s organizers later confirmed that the move was driven by the owner’s business decision. They expressed hope that Sziget could be saved under new Hungarian ownership, potentially with the return of its founder, Károly Gerendai.
Gerendai himself spoke at the Budapest City Assembly meeting yesterday, warning that holding the event next year is far from guaranteed. According to a report by Magyar Nemzet, he emphasized that “if we cannot resolve this situation very soon, there will be no Sziget Festival next year.”
According to him, in addition to the existing contract, a new agreement would also need to be finalized, ideally within a few days, otherwise, there will not be enough time to organize the event.
After the failed vote, Gerendai noted that “Even I need to understand what all this means; I’m completely baffled by the situation.”
Under Mayor Karácsony’s proposal, which failed to pass, the city would have signed a new 10-year contract with the newly formed Sziget organization led by Gerendai after terminating the previous public space usage agreement, the report noted. The plan included a 90% discount on the public space usage fee for the first three years, up from the previous 66%, from which the value of ticket discounts for Budapest residents could have been deducted.
Starting from the fourth year, the fee would have been at least equal to the inflation-adjusted amount set in the previous contract. However, if the festival’s average daily attendance had exceeded the profitable 2019 level, Sziget would have been required to retroactively repay the discount granted during the first three years over the remaining seven years of the contract. In addition, weekly passes for young Budapest residents would have been available at half price.
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