A series of festival-like events will be organized for the national holiday on August 20, the state secretary responsible for international communication and relations announced on Tuesday in Budapest.
Zoltán Kovács announced: they are preparing for the biggest ever celebration, there will be hundreds of programs at 17 event venues over 3.5 days. As he said, as it was decided before last year - only last year the coronavirus epidemic did not make it possible - I would like to raise the celebration of the founding of the state to an event that goes beyond the previous national holidays. Their goal is for as many people as possible to join in the celebration of the day of the founder of the state, King Szent István. The programs of this year's holiday are made available on the szentisvannap2021.hu website.
This year, the usual elements will not be left out: there will be a flag raising, a military air parade, and a clean-up ceremony. In conjunction with this, there will also be a military presentation where interested parties can see for themselves the capabilities of the renewed, strong Hungarian Armed Forces, said Zoltán Kovács.
He announced: President János Áder will present the Order of St. Stephen, then the Kossuth and Széchenyi awards, as well as the Hungarian Order of Merit awards, as well as several recognitions that were missed due to the coronavirus epidemic.
On the evening of August 20, the festive programs will be closed with "Europe's biggest fireworks display", explained the state secretary.
Zoltán Kovács also touched on the fact that this year's holiday is planned without restrictions. The government decree will be published on Tuesday, stating that the central events on August 20, the Four-wheel Drive European Championship to be held in September, and the International Eucharistic Congress will not be affected by the restrictions in force due to the coronavirus epidemic, he said.
At the same time, the state secretary added: the operational team responsible for the protection against the coronavirus epidemic meets continuously, they follow the epidemic situation, so they can take the necessary measures at any moment.
Government spokeswoman Alexandra Szentkirályi emphasized that the purpose of the holiday programs is also to help the tourism sector, which has been in a difficult situation due to the coronavirus epidemic, and the families that live in it.
Visitors to the central programs can support the sector at Budapest hotels, restaurants and attractions. Accommodation bookings in the capital are already experiencing a jump for the holiday week.
more information on the Magyarhirlap .hu portal.
Photo: MH/Róbert Hegedüs
