Hungary: annual Sziget Festival

Monday

Two British police (male and female) arrive for the Budapest Sziget (“island” in Hungarian) Festival. This is the first time we have tried this experiment. Both are from the Somerset and Avon force, with "Glasto" experience, and will be walking the Festival beat here in support of the Hungarian police. We have a long-standing police cooperation project and, although there is no longer much money for this sort of initiative, we have been able to find enough to make this visit possible. The Embassy Consular team brief our visitors on local conditions. The Festival is Europe's biggest, spread over many square kilometres of a big island in mid-Danube. It has taken place every year since 1993.

Tuesday

Local restrictions prevent the Sziget Festival lasting a full 7 days. So it lasts for 5, starting tomorrow. However, the organisers have also been able to add on a "Day Zero" (today) and a "Day Minus 1"! Iron Maiden topped the bill last night, launching a feast of British rock and pop excellence - The Cribs, The Wombats, Roisin Murphy, Jarimoquai, Babyshambles, The Kooks.... The organisers expect some 30,000 British visitors. Frankly, I'm most worried about how the Sex Pistols decide to behave.

Wednesday

Some of the Hungarian media want to interview me about the leaflets we are making available to British fans about the problems they might encounter at Sziget ("if you leave your passport in your tent, don't expect to find it when you come back") or in Budapest (where bars, restaurants and taxis work a number of scams). I make clear that we work closely with the local authorities on these issues; that very few bad scams affect our tourists and we want to keep it that way; and that our aim is to ensure everyone has a good time. I still get misquoted by one major on-line service, whose reporter wants to claim that we are exaggerating the threat. But we've taped the interview and get the editor to change the offending item.

Thursday

I've bought a ticket for today to ensure I catch the fabulous Kaiser Chiefs. I go early with Geory, Head of our Public Diplomacy team. We have an open air showing at Sziget of "The Art of Integration", the FCO's photo-exhibition on Muslims in Britain (which we are currently show-casing in a series of venues in Hungary) and I want to meet the partners with whom we have worked on this and see it in situ. Over the week a satisfyingly large number of visitors go round the exhibition. The main daily "Nepszabadsag" wants to interview me about why I am there, as does another on-line news service. I have a chance to hear Kispal es a Borz (“Little Paul and the Badger), a long-established Hungarian rock band who (unusually) sing their lyrics sufficiently clearly that even I can understand them. Later, the Kaiser Chiefs do us proud with a great show in front of a huge crowd.

Friday

Back officially today with some colleagues (Kriszta, Zsuzsi and Dani) to meet our police. They are full of praise for the event and the British fans and are inundated by requests for photographs (much to the jealousy of their French and Netherlands counterparts). There has been little or no evidence of drug-taking (on which the Hungarians come down hard) and very few robberies of Brits. The Justice Minister and Chief of Police arrive and tell me how useful it is to have professional British police expertise available. There is also a chance to go backstage to meet URH (an important Hungarian group for historical reasons) and the main Festival organisers - possible future partners for us on other ventures - as well as a wide variety of VIPs and contacts. (Give me this type of networking over a cocktail reception any day.) I stay on to hear The Sex Pistols - they are amazingly popular here. Johnny Rotten criticises a certain President and organised religion but is otherwise pretty well behaved. They put on a surprisingly good show. "Nepszabadsag" has published a sympathetic article about me headlined "the Ambassador for Music". It causes some mirth among my colleagues - but as nicknames go it could be a lot worse.

Saturday

I've a ticket again today, largely to see REM - who are superb, despite not being British. Over 70,000 fans are there to hear them - the peak crowd. The police are still upbeat. They tell us that the British fans are all uniquely well-informed about the risks and that our consular messages are clearly getting through. “Are you a real British bobby?” asks one beery fan. “Yes, and are you a real British partygoer, sir?”.

Sunday

The last day of Sziget. My eldest son, who has a weekly ticket, is at the Festival again. My daughter would be, but I've had to take her to hospital due to an outbreak of tonsillitis. The Hungarian Police suggest that less than 50 cases of robbery of Brits have occurred and no arrests.

Monday

Debrief from our police and their Hungarian minder at the Embassy. In fact the final Hungarian tally is under 20 robberies and no arrests. Pretty impressive given the 400,000 total number of visitors to Sziget! The UK Police are keen to come back next year - and we'd be very glad to see them again. The final assessment? A great week for British culture, the Embassy's media coverage and our consular work. It's just a bit of a shame the latter doesn’t tend to get much recognition when everything goes well!

Greg Dorey
HM Ambassador
Budapest
August 2008