Fantastic festivals, cool concerts, cultural showcases and amazing parties – Budapest is always buzzing. Every month, we bring together all of the important happenings taking place in and around Hungary’s capital, so you can plan ahead. For February, Nicki Minaj, Tom Odell and World Nutella Day are among the many exciting events you shouldn't miss. Get out there and enjoy everything that Budapest has to offer!
1/11
Carnival season
The Carnival season – called Farsang – is a colourful festival period stretching from Epiphany on January 6th for about six weeks until Ash Wednesday. It is associated with fun festivities, cheery feasts, masquerade balls and folk celebrations that all aim to scare the cold months away and welcome spring’s warmer weather. One of the main events of this vibrant parade is Busójárás that takes place between 28 February and 5 March in the southern city of Mohács. During this Busó parade, scary-looking men wearing wooden masks, horns and wooly cloaks noisily run around and frivolously chase women. Budapest often holds Farsang events in February, too, from festive feasts to playful parades, where you can sample the particular Carnival atmosphere.
2/11
Ghetto Sheriff English-language play
On 4 February, the Örkény Theatre is staging an English-speaking performance about the harrowing trauma of the Holocaust, whose annual international memorial is a few days before. During this unique performance, the actors recite Jewish jokes, songs and documents from the 1930s and 1940s in pitch darkness. For more details and tickets, click here.
3/11
World Nutella Day
February 5th is a monumental date in the lives of sweet lovers, as it is World Nutella Day! Between 3 and 5 February, Budapest’s colourful candyland, the SUGAR! shop, prepares concoctions from dreamy Nutella-infused recipes, in addition to their other scrumptious cakes and sweets. Lovers of this hazelnut-chocolate spread can try many delightful desserts here over the three days. And don't forget, on Monday, instead of the usual noon, they open the doors at 10:30am.
After several festival appearances, this time Tom Odell is visiting Hungary on 8 February with a stand-alone concert at the Barba Negra Music Club. He will play his trademark songs such as Another Love and Grow Old with Me as well as tunes from his new album. Click here for tickets.
When you hear the name David Duchovny, the first thing that comes to mind might be Fox Mulder, special agent of The X-Files or Hank Moody from Californication. This time, however, the celebrated actor takes a break from the silver screen to show his musical side. As the singer of an alternative rock band, Duchovny has won over critics and audiences alike. He takes the stage on 11 February at MOM Sport. Click here for tickets.
6/11
Mangalica Festival
Every February, Budapest’s central Szabadság tér hosts a celebration of Hungary’s prize pig, mangalica. This buoyant alfresco festival – taking place between 8-10 February – features a wide range of mangalica-based meals cooked on the spot. Alongside, you’ll find leather and craft goods created by local producers, Hungary’s finest wines and pálinka brandy specialities, and live music performances. Visitors can meet breeders and farmers from all around the country, and buy products straight from the producer, leaving supermarkets and other big businesses out of the equation. Product quality is supervised and guaranteed by the Hungarian National Association of Mangalica Breeders. Entry to the festival is free. More details
7/11
Indoor Beer Festival
Well, if you thought that only open-air beer festivals exist in Budapest, the Gellért Hotel and the three-day Serfőző are here to prove you wrong. Between 15-17 February, the Gellért will be transformed into a large beer hall, offering some 100 kinds of bottled and craft brews from Hungary and abroad. On Friday and Saturday, a delicious beer dinner will be prepared, while on Sunday a beer brunch will fill the ample bellies of the assembled ale aficionados. The entry ticket is valid for unlimited beer tasting. More details
8/11
Budapest Dance Festival
Between 18 February and 1 March, the Budapest Dance Festival is being held at multiple venues, such as the new National Dance Theatre being opened for this event, Müpa, the Music Academy, the Pesti Vigadó and the MOM Cultural Centre. A curated schedule of dance performances of various genres await. For more information, see here – and for tickets, here (in Hungarian).
Taking the stage of Müpa on 23 February are world-renowned Hungarian folk group Muzsikás, with guests Hanga Kacsó, István Berecz and Áron Porteleki. Besides the concert, several other folk and ethno-music artists will be featured at this event, championing diversity in music. Before and after the concert, a folk-inspired dance house will be held in the foyer. More details and tickets
Nicki Minaj will set out on her European tour in February 2019, with Budapest as the fourth stop. Here she teams up with Juice WRLD whose Goodbye & Good Riddance debut went gold, in an unmissable double-header at the Papp László Budapest Sportaréna on 25 February. Minaj became popular in 2010 with her Pink Friday album – since then she’s earned ten Grammy nominations, and worldwide fame. Click here for tickets.
11/11
Budapest Photo Festival
Between 28 February and 20 April, the Budapest Photo Festival honours Hungary’s pictorial heritage, bringing together acknowledged representatives of the art and their audience. For three whole months, many photo exhibitions fill the city at major exhibition spaces. The opening display, Small Stories, brings the works by cult American filmmaker David Lynch to Budapest. Created in 2014 for Paris Photo Week at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Small Stories conjures up the nightmarish underworld of amorphous creatures and murky corners familiar from his early cinema. More details
