Fireworks postponed to 27 August

The announcement of the Government Information Centre (KTK) says that given the current weather forecasts, holding the fireworks today is no longer safe. The operative body in charge of the national holiday had their latest sitting today at noon. There they decided to call off the magnificent fireworks celebrating the birth of the Hungarian Christian state. Interestingly, they already did so yesterday with today morning’s military air show over the Danube.

The original date of the event was today 9 PM. But it was postponed to 27 August, 9 PM due to the poor weather. Zoltán Kovács, the government’s spokesman, said before that it would be more expensive to cancel the fireworks than to hold them.

Here is a video of the 2021 fireworks in 4K:

Opposition wanted to cancel it

That is because some opposition leaders and mayors suggested the government could spend those HUF billions on easing the severe consequences of inflation, the energy crisis, economic problems and the war. Gergely Karácsony, the opposition mayor of Budapest, said he would cancel the fireworks in Budapest. However, it is not in his power to make such a decision.

Furthermore, the operative body suggested the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Esztergom–Budapest organize their 20 August mass inside the basilica instead of St Stephen Square. The religious event starts at 5 PM today. Moreover, they would like the archdiocese to cancel the procession. Instead, they suggested holding a musical prayer in front of the Holy Right Hand of St Stephen displayed today in the church.

Old tradition

The operative board said it would decide about the different programmes in Budapest based on the opinion of the local organizers.

The 20 August fireworks have a decade-long tradition in Hungary, dating back to the 1920s.

Interestingly, agriculture workers would like to have a demonstration today in Budapest. Bálint Szabó, the protest’s main organizer, said they would only come to Budapest after the operative board decided about the fireworks. However, despite their decision, it is still forbidden for them to swarm the capital today thanks to a previous police decision.