ConcertsAt the beginning of the year, silence will prevail, only a few local Hungarian bands will play the soundtrack for languid New Year pub crawlers. Things will start to warm up by the end of January. Acts will virtually hand the microphone over to each other like a relay baton as one great concert follows another. Right on 31 January, Ignite will perform at Barba Negra. The frontman, Zoli Téglás is also known as the singer of the noted punk band, Pennywise and as such he's been known to get halls full of Americans belting out a Hungarian folk song. The concert will be replayed in a "light" version the next day aboard A38.
You don't have to sleep much after that until the arrival of the multiplatinum-selling, scary mask-wearing Grammy-winner, Slipknot to the Papp László Budapest Sportaréna - which is sure to attract even those who are not really into metal. Almost right after that, pop over to A38, where Fink returns after their last show in Budapest at Sziget Fesztival for a club concert. The intimate atmosphere at A38 is expected to suit the tone of his more personal songs better.
Yann Tiersen is touring the world with his album, Infinity, which is a gig not to miss. The Frenchman, whose name has grown inseparable with the music of Amélie and Goodbye, Lenin arrives to Budapest's Akvárium Klub on 24 February. Then take a breather - you'll need the extra energy for what's to come.
In the spring, in the frame of Volume 7 of the Trafó ELECTRIFY series on 18 April, you can enjoy the robust volcano sound of Ben Frost and the drastic visions of future by the English Vessel. A month later, huge star, Roxette, comes to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of the band's breakthrough single, The Look. The mega tour will make a stop at the aforementioned Arena in Budapest on 19 May.
Do not miss this show!
We have good news for those who might have missed one of the bets gigs of 2014 - or simply wish to have another go. We are happy to announce that Scooter will return again to Budapest Park on 16 May 2015. Not much later we'll meet another big name on 7 June OneRepublic will take the stage at the Papp László Budapest Sportarena. These American alterpop stars visit Hungary for the very first - and hopefully not the last - time.
There are faint rumours of Metallica concert in Budapest, but we cannot officially confirm this information, so we won't go deeper into that now. What seems to be certain is that we can start saying goodbye to the year with widely criticised, yet still popular band; the Canadian Nickelback returns on 16 November. We aren't really attached to this act, but we still anticipate it.PerformancesOn Saturday, 17 January, the Palace of Arts will host the most prestigious gala of Hungarian folk and world music, the festival of folk music for the 8th time, where the established names and up and coming young talents will both play an important role. The Recirquel Contemporary Circus Company will stage its third and so far most modern show, Paris De Nuit, which revolves around lost illusions. In addition to the new piece, they'll still continue the Naked Clown performances, for example on 26 February.
Between the two Recirquel shows, pay a visit to the Arena for the must-see
Cirque du Soleil: the ensemble performs 4 times between 13 and 15 February 2015.
The same venue will still be worth your time soon after, since it hosts an extraordinary talk on 22 February 2015, featuring ArnoldSchwarzenegger. The main goal of Success Day is to make every person able to learn the principles and the practice of success, thus contributing to the fullness of their lives.
And the wisdom just keeps flowing: the talks series dedicated to innovative ideas, TED returns to Budapest with 'Balance on the Edge'. The whole-day event searches for answers to questions like 'What questions should we be asking?' or 'Where do our possibilities lie?' and 'What are the dangers we should be truly wary of?'.
Although a slightly different matter, still an important one: the live show of WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) comes to Hungary (and more specifically to the BudapestArena) for the very first time on 16 April, bringing you the greatest wrestlers of the world. Yes, we know, it's all just a show, but still.
There will be many interesting theatrical productions as well, like Franz Kafka's The Trial, premièring at the National Theatre in June 2015. Their other pieces of similar attraction, like Sándor Márai Hungarian novelist's two one-acts (Családi kérdés; Befejezetlen szimfónia - 12 April); and Don Quijote based on works by Cervantes and Bulgakov from April 2015. Check these out in detail here.
The Vígszínház is also worth attention, for their version of the piece in the origo of love, betrayal, a beggar mafia, power, corruption and humour, The Threepenny Opera, is on show from March 2015. January will be pretty busy for the Operetta Theatre: the pieces Mozart!, Miss Saigon and The Beauty and the Beast hold plenty of surprises for 2015. Details here.FestivalsRegardless of season, the most anticipated events are unquestionably festivals, and Budapest has a lot to offer in this regard. Right at the beginning of the year (6-8 February 2015), Szabadság Square will be taken over by the Mangalica Festival, aimed at promoting Hungarian mangalica breeders and mangalica product manufacturers. Then 10 - 26 April, it's time for this year's Budapest Spring Festival. The line-up is constantly expanding, but it's already clear that Verdi's opera Luisa Miller, J.A. Hasse's Siroe, King of Persia, and Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland could be big hits. For the dance fans, we'd recommend the contemporary performance by the Dutch NDT (Nederlands Dans Theater).
The official festival season will peak during Sziget - the festival not only broke records last year, it always provides the loudest bang in Budapest. According to our sources, the festival has yet another great schedule planned (the first acts have already been announced), which is expected to draw hundreds of thousands again to the Hajógyári Island.
The list is nowhere near complete, even if we mention the wine and beer festivals, or Budapest100 that focuses on the 100-year-old buildings of the capital.
And let us not forget the minor festivals that summer brings like the Rakéta Festival, which definitely deserves a mention for its cultural mission. The event promoting future mainstream acts and Hungarian music trends is held 20 - 26 July. There is no information about the venues and the schedule yet, but based on last year's festival, it's one program to follow, even if it's not widely known yet.
Sports2015 promises to be fun in terms of sports as well. We can begin the year with a table tennis World Tour competition on 28 January, and - ironically - Coca-Cola holds its "Testébresztő" Fitness Day in March, which is also expected to draw masses. In the same month, on the 29th, soccer fans will be glued to the screen by the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier between Hungary and Greece.
On 16 April, the Shidokan Karate Open World Championship will be held under the flag of power, spirit and honesty. Then there's Vivicittá (the annual running event sponsored by Telekom) on 19 April. The speed will only increase with the Red Bull Air Race on 4-5 July and the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix on 26 July.
The Hungarian national soccer team will return on 4 September to meet Romania and on 8 October to meet the Faroe Islands - both in the frame of the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers.MiscellaneousWe view the moving in of the new koala of the Budapest Zoo as an event of special magnitude. Fun fact: the Zoo had to establish a separate eucalyptus glass house to guarantee the necessary reserves.
