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Transport and Investment Minister Dávid Vitézy said that the fireworks display will be slightly shorter than usual. However, from 11 p.m. until 3:30 a.m., the city will host “massive street parties” at locations including Kossuth Square in front of Parliament, Margaret Island and the University of Technology and Economics embankment near Szent Gellért Square.
“The idea is that people can stay out and enjoy themselves after the fireworks,” Vitézy said, though he warned that, as usual during the celebrations, public transport in the city will be disrupted.
Chain Bridge, Elizabeth Bridge and Margaret Bridge will all be closed, making metro services the best option for getting around the city, he said.
To ensure that the celebrations are not limited to Budapest residents, early-morning services will operate nationwide for the first time, allowing people to return home after the parties.
The Budapest Transport Center (BKK) is preparing for metro trains to run until 3:30 a.m., alongside more frequent night buses and tram No. 6 services. These will make it easier to reach railway stations and bus terminals, where special services will depart in all directions, particularly toward county seats and cities with county rights.
All necessary information is available on the websites of the MÁV Group and BKK, Vitézy added.
The minister also said the entire series of events will cost around one-third of what the previous Fidesz government had planned, at HUF 4.9 billion instead of HUF 17 bln.
“So it seems there was some significant overcharging here, and we’re able to offer far more for far less,” he said.
Aug. 20 is one of Hungary’s most important national holidays, marking St. Stephen’s Day and commemorating King Stephen I, the country’s first Christian monarch and founder of the medieval Hungarian state. Traditionally regarded as the anniversary of the foundation of Hungary, the holiday is marked by official ceremonies, cultural programs and large-scale public celebrations, culminating in an evening fireworks display over the Danube in Budapest.
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