Running from July 17 to August 30, the initiative will transform the section of Piac Street between Kossuth/Széchenyi Street and Arany Jånos Street into a vibrant community venue every weekend.

From 6:00 p.m. on Fridays until 6:00 p.m. on Sundays, the area will be closed to vehicle traffic, allowing pedestrians to enjoy concerts, guided walks, children’s activities, exhibitions and outdoor entertainment. Restaurants and cafĂ©s along the street will also expand their terraces into the car-free zone.

According to the city, the long-running project—organized by Cívis Ház Zrt. and FƑnix Event Organiser Ltd.—is being delivered this year with the support of the municipality, local cultural institutions and downtown businesses. The goal is to create a lively public meeting place while boosting local shops and tourism in Debrecen.

Opening weekend programme (July 17–19)

The first weekend offers a packed schedule of free events across the city centre.

Friday, July 17

The 6th Debrecen Street Music Days will take place in Gambrinus Passage between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., featuring performances by Rover, H.A.B., NEMADOMFEL, and VidĂĄm Dharma.

Visitors can also browse the Master-Lab Comics music-themed comic fair, while outdoor DayTime Party DJ sessions will bring music to Piac Street throughout the evening.

Saturday, July 18

The programme includes interactive science activities by the AgĂłra Science Experience Centre, a handicraft market featuring local artists, and a free guided tour at the Debrecen Bicycle Museum, exploring more than 200 years of cycling history.

Live entertainment continues with an acoustic concert by BĂ­ró–KĂĄposztĂĄs Akusztik, dance performances celebrating preparations for the Debrecen Flower Carnival, and the opening of “In the Footsteps”, a street photography exhibition by Levente Vigh presented by MODEM.

Outdoor DJ parties will continue into the evening at several downtown venues.

Sunday, July 19

The weekend concludes with another free guided tour at the Debrecen Bicycle Museum, offering visitors another opportunity to discover the history of cycling.

The BelvĂĄros-Szeretem! series will continue with similar free weekend programmes until the end of August, turning one of Debrecen’s busiest streets into a pedestrian-focused cultural destination throughout the summer.

Artistic director Judit VĂĄradi presented a nearly 300-page anniversary book, Sounds of a Quarter Century, documenting the academy’s history, while a photo exhibition featuring 70 images highlighted its first 25 years. Founding members also shared memories during a roundtable discussion before the long-running Music Evenings in the Big Forest concert series officially resumed.

In memory of TamĂĄs VĂĄsĂĄry

The opening concert paid tribute to the late world-renowned pianist and conductor TamĂĄs VĂĄsĂĄry, the founding conductor of the KodĂĄly ZoltĂĄn World Youth Orchestra. The audience watched a recording of his 2018 concert at Debrecen’s Big Reformed Church, captured by Debrecen Television and screened in the Liszt Hall of the University of Debrecen’s Faculty of Music.

VĂĄradi also reflected on VĂĄsĂĄry’s legacy, recalling their collaboration and emphasizing that the 2018 performance was the final piano recital he gave in his hometown of Debrecen. She noted that the emotional documentary, in which VĂĄsĂĄry recounted his life with characteristic humor, left the audience sitting in silence even after the credits had rolled.

Strings and saxophone gala

The concert series continued with performances by violinist MĂĄria Zs. SzabĂł, cellist IldikĂł SzabĂł (Germany), saxophonist Levente PuskĂĄs, pianist Judit VĂĄradi, and Japanese pianist Souhei Yamagami.

Longtime chamber music partners PuskĂĄs and VĂĄradi presented fresh arrangements of Edvard Grieg’s Violin Sonata in C minor and ZoltĂĄn KodĂĄly’s Adagio, adapting both works for saxophone.

Founding academy member MĂĄria Zs. SzabĂł recalled the academy’s beginnings and praised its enduring popularity, while cellist IldikĂł SzabĂł highlighted the importance of passing musical knowledge from teacher to student and supporting the next generation of talented musicians.

Chamber music and percussion in the spotlight

The following Music Evenings in the Big Forest concert focused on chamber music and percussion, featuring an international lineup of performers from Hungary, Serbia, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom, alongside participants in the academy’s percussion masterclass and the SONUS Percussion Ensemble. The audience rewarded the performances with enthusiastic standing ovations, underscoring the continuing success of the academy’s anniversary celebrations.

The news of the beloved singer’s death was announced on Bonnie Tyler’s official website. Tyler, known for her distinctive raspy voice, had been placed in a medically induced coma at a hospital in Faro in May following emergency surgery near her home.

Her spokesperson said last month that she had been brought out of the coma, but the singer remained in poor condition and continued to receive intensive care.

Born Gaynor Hopkins, Bonnie Tyler grew up in Neath, Wales, where her talent was discovered at a club in nearby Swansea. Her debut single, Lost in France, was released in 1977. Later that year, her country-pop ballad It’s a Heartache became an international hit, reaching No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 3 in the United States.

Her biggest success came in 1983 with the rock anthem Total Eclipse of the Heart, which topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. The song was written by Jim Steinman, originally titled Vampires in Love, and was initially intended for a musical adaptation of Nosferatu.

“I never get tired of performing it. I love it because people are always waiting to hear me sing it,” Tyler previously told BBC News.

The song earned a Grammy Award nomination, as did the album Faster Than the Speed of Night, on which it appeared, along with the track Here She Comes.

Steinman also wrote several other pop-rock classics for Tyler, including Holding Out for a Hero, which was created for the 1984 film Footloose and later gained a new generation of fans after appearing in Shrek 2.

Long after the peak of her commercial success, Tyler represented the United Kingdom at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest with Believe in Me, finishing 19th in the final held in Malmö.

In 2023, Bonnie Tyler was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of her services to music.

Last year, she released Together, a club version of Total Eclipse of the Heart, in collaboration with producers David Guetta and Hypaton. Thanks in part to the renewed interest, the original recording surpassed one billion streams on Spotify this year, 43 years after its release.

Bonnie Tyler performed in Hungary several times. Her most recent appearance was at the MĂ©zesvölgyi NyĂĄr Festival in VeresegyhĂĄz in 2023. She had previously performed at the Harley-Davidson Festival in Alsóörs in 2014 and at the Unique Festival at Buda Castle in 2012. Her planned concert at this year’s DĂ©ja Vu Festival in Szeged, scheduled for June, was cancelled due to illness.

The competition was first held in 1961 and has been presented in a renewed format since 2024.

Competition Director JĂłzsef Nemes, a renowned conductor, said that the anniversary edition attracted an exceptionally high number of applications, allowing organizers to select some of the finest choirs from around the world. This year, 11 choirs from four continents will compete.

North America will be represented by the Riverside City College Chamber Singers from California and the Coralia – Concert Choir of the University of Puerto Rico. Asia’s representative is The Resonanz Children’s Choir from Indonesia, while Africa will be represented by Cape Town Camerata from South Africa.

European participants include Germany’s Santinig-Bonn and Latvia’s MASKA Mixed Choir of the BabÄ«te Cultural Education Centre. Turkey will be represented by two ensembles, Alegria Choir and Jazzberry Tunes. Hungary’s representatives are the BartĂłk BĂ©la Women’s Choir, the ZoltĂĄn KodĂĄly Youth Mixed Choir, and the VĂĄntus Boys’ Choir.

The international jury will be chaired by acclaimed German choral expert Georg GrĂŒn. Other jury members include Zsuzsanna GrĂĄf, Tristan Caliston Ignacio, Csaba Somos, and Philippos Tsalahouris.

All rounds of the competition are open to the public. The program will also feature world premieres commissioned specifically for the competition, performed by the Lautitia Children’s Choir and the KodĂĄly Choir.

Following Thursday’s opening ceremony, choirs will compete in the sacred music category on Friday at St. Anne’s Cathedral. That evening, the traditional “Vivat, crescat, floreat!” gala concert will be held at the Kölcsey Center, featuring new works by composers MĂĄtĂ© Balogh, MĂĄrton Levente HorvĂĄth, Katalin Szalai, and PĂ©ter Zombola. The concert will also include the premiere performance of MiklĂłs Csemiczky’s oratorio Credo, performed jointly by the KodĂĄly Choir and the KodĂĄly Philharmonic Orchestra.

On Saturday, competitors will perform in the children’s, youth, and open categories, while Sunday will conclude the event with the Grand Prix concert and the official awards ceremony.

The Grand Prix-winning choir will once again earn an invitation to compete in the prestigious European Grand Prix for Choral Singing, an exclusive annual competition jointly organized by Arezzo, Debrecen, JĆ«rmala, Maribor, Tolosa, and Varna, with the host city rotating each year.

The competition is professionally organized through the cooperation of KodĂĄly Philharmonia Debrecen, Jeunesses Musicales Hungary, and Papageno. Thanks to this partnership, every public round of the competition will be streamed live online, allowing audiences around the world to follow the event.

“There are a few weeks when a city becomes not only the venue but also the heart of something. Today, Debrecen has become the heart of Hungarian theatre life. For one week, the profession, the audience, the past and the future, tradition and renewal all meet here,” said Dániel Vadász, director of the Csokonai National Theatre, at the festival’s opening ceremony. He added that Debrecen is now welcoming those who believe theatre is not merely performance, but also dialogue, community, and reflection.

“It is a special honour that the 160-year-old Csokonai National Theatre can host this prestigious showcase during its anniversary season,” he emphasized.

VadĂĄsz expressed hope that the coming days would not only be about performances but also about attentiveness and openness, encouraging participants to approach one another with curiosity and celebrate together an art form that can both hold up a mirror to society and offer hope.

He highlighted that this year’s programme offers a very broad spectrum of productions. As in previous years, seven main-stage productions and seven studio productions will compete. He recalled that 72 theatre companies submitted a total of 108 productions for consideration, with the selection process lasting five months.

According to VadĂĄsz, theatre always reflects the way people live together, but it can also help them understand one another better and ask meaningful questions. In addition to the performances, audiences can attend a variety of off-programmes, including roundtable discussions, exhibition openings, dance performances, and events designed for families and children.

Speaking to MTI, the theatre director said that the roundtable discussions would address topics such as safe spaces in theatre and standards of behaviour within the profession, as concerns related to abuse have become more prominent in recent years.

Although no such incidents have occurred at the Debrecen theatre, he noted that a planned production directed by EnikƑ Eszenyi was removed from next season’s programme because the proposed collaboration caused discomfort among several colleagues. For this reason, the organizers felt it was important to initiate dialogue on the issue among experts from the Hungarian Theatre Society, the Trade Union of Theatre Workers, and the Safe Spaces Foundation.

VadĂĄsz also pointed out that the state of opera production outside Budapest has been included among the professional discussion topics, adding that the related roundtable could become an important milestone for the field.

Following the opening ceremony, the book “Music Plays, the Flame Burns. Let the Game Begin.” was presented at the Simor OttĂł Orpheum of the Csokonai Forum. The publication tells the life story of the legendary Debrecen opera singer György TrĂ©fĂĄs, often referred to as “the country’s most beautiful bass voice.”

The festival officially opened its gates at 4 p.m., with one of the first major programmes taking place on the main stage: the presentation of Debrecen’s city wines. Visitors had the opportunity to learn more about the selected wines representing the city while enjoying the relaxed atmosphere of the opening day.

Traditional ideas with a modern twist

Our first stop was the stand of Cvekedli, a restaurant from Nyíregyháza known for reimagining traditional pasta dishes. The team welcomed guests with exceptional friendliness and presented dishes that successfully combined Hungarian culinary traditions with the festival’s international theme. Every element, from presentation to flavour combinations, reflected careful attention to detail and creativity.

A taste of Japan in Debrecen

Later, visitors gathered around the cooking demonstration of chef TamĂĄs BĂĄrczi, owner of A Leves Ă©s Burger in Miskolc, who prepared a Wild East-style miso ramen. During the presentation, he explained the differences between traditional ramen and more familiar Central European soups, highlighting that ramen is built around two essential components: the broth itself and the concentrated seasoning base known as tare.

The dish featured miso paste, soy-based ingredients, mirin and other carefully selected seasonings, demonstrating the complexity behind one of Japan’s most iconic dishes.

The restaurant is taking part in the Debrecen Gourmet Festival for the eighth time. TamĂĄs described the event as a true passion project, adding that he is always happy to return thanks to the steadily growing customer base and enthusiastic reception they receive in Debrecen year after year.

Sparkling wines from SomlĂł

Back on the main stage, the focus shifted from food to sparkling wine as representatives of the Kreinbacher Estate arrived from Somlóvásárhely for a guided tasting. Guests sampled three different sparkling wines while learning about the production process and the unique volcanic terroir of the Somló wine region, which has become one of Hungary’s leading centres of traditional-method sparkling wine production.

Local ingredients in the spotlight

Among the exhibitors, Szenderkert also attracted considerable attention. Their dishes were prepared almost entirely from ingredients produced on their own farm, with microgreens playing a particularly important role. These tiny but intensely flavoured plants added freshness, colour and complexity to the dishes, demonstrating how local and sustainable ingredients can elevate contemporary cuisine.

Football and craft beer to end the day

As the evening arrived, many festival-goers gathered to watch the 2026 FIFA World Cup matches while enjoying the festival atmosphere. To round off the day, we sampled a craft beer from Mad Scientist. The brewery’s summer offering proved to be an excellent choice for a warm evening, combining rich chocolate and coffee notes with a surprisingly refreshing character.

Debrecen Gourmet Festival starts today with exciting programmes and delicious flavours – full schedule

Debrecen Book Week (11–14 June)

The Debrecen Ünnepi KönyvhĂ©t (Book Week) is the central cultural event of the week. It brings together publishers, authors, book signings, and outdoor literary programs in the city centre.

Even if you do not speak Hungarian fluently, the atmosphere itself is worth visiting: open-air stands, music, food, and a very relaxed community vibe around books and reading.

More information on .

“Asterix – The Lost Papyrus” exhibition (8–30 June)

At the , visitors can see a travelling exhibition based on the Asterix universe.

This is one of the most accessible cultural programs for non-Hungarian speakers, as it is visual, playful, and based on a globally known comic series.

Gourmet Festival at NagyerdƑ (12–14 June)

One of the most international-friendly events of the week is the, held in the green area of NagyerdƑ.

It focuses on food and drinks from different cuisines, making it especially enjoyable for expats and students who want to explore Hungarian gastronomy alongside international flavors.

Live music: Incognito Club concert (12 June)

For nightlife and music lovers, the Incognito Club – offers an alternative evening program with live performances and a more underground atmosphere.

Art & exhibitions

• KĂĄnyĂĄsi Holb Margit exhibition opening (13 June)
  A local visual arts exhibition opening, part of Debrecen’s contemporary art scene.
  More information about the event .
• Community art exhibition (Újkerti Community House)
  Showcasing works from local workshops and creative groups.
  More information about the event .

Downtown Outdoor Cinema returns to Debrecen

The Downtown Outdoor Cinema offers a special selection this season: three iconic films, each celebrating its 20th anniversary, screened in Hungarian with English subtitles. Visitors are invited to enjoy movie nights in a green, urban setting — with blankets, friends, and summer evenings as the perfect backdrop.

2026 programme

26 June, 9:00 PM – Glass Tiger 2
Hungarian comedy, 107 minutes, 16+
Ticket price: HUF 2,500

31 July, 9:00 PM – The Prestige
American–British thriller, 130 minutes, 16+
Ticket price: HUF 2,500

28 August, 9:00 PM – The Lake House
American romantic drama, 99 minutes, 12+
Ticket price: HUF 2,500

Practical information

The screenings take place in the inner garden of the MODEM Centre for Modern and Contemporary Arts. In case of rain, the venue moves to ApollĂł Cinema. Doors open 30 minutes before each screening.

Tickets are available at modemart.jegy.hu and at the MODEM box office.

More information at the Facebook.Ìę

According to library director BĂ©la LĂłrĂĄnt KovĂĄcs, the Debrecen Book Week has traditionally served as a “city diplomacy event” as well. This year, the guest city will be Novi Sad.

The traditional Book Street will feature 15 stands on the promenade in front of the historic Aranybika Hotel, while book launches, workshops, and architectural tours will take place inside the building.

Poet TamĂĄs Korpa, curator of the event, said visitors will be introduced to a concentrated selection of literary works from the Novi Sad region and its leading authors.

Among the featured writers from Vojvodina will be Gåbor Viråg (writing under the pen name Aaron Blumm), Attila Balåzs, Ottó Fenyvesi, and poet and playwright Anna Terék.

The honorary literary guest of the event will be LĂĄszlĂł VĂ©gel, who will officially open the festival on June 11 at 5 p.m. and participate in a public discussion afterward.

Morning programmes will focus primarily on children, while afternoon and early evening events will target adult audiences. Five winners of the Children’s Book of the Year Award have been invited: PĂ©ter NyulĂĄsz, Csenge VirĂĄg Zalka, BorbĂĄla SzabĂł, OttĂł Kiss and Eszter T. MolnĂĄr.

A special guest this year will be music historian Ádám BƑsze.

The event will also feature the literary debuts of two young authors from Debrecen: Bodza Réka Csizmadia will present her poetry collection Indulat (Impulse), while Adél Horvåth will introduce her novel Sok ördögök (Many Devils).

The 97th Debrecen Book Week will conclude on June 14 with the presentation of Illegalists, the latest novel by Kossuth Prize-winning writer and poet AndrĂĄs Visky.

Highlights of the programme

• June 10: Architectural tours of the Aranybika Hotel, historical fiction panel discussions, and book launches.
• June 11: Official opening ceremony, discussions with Vojvodina authors, and a world music concert by the Bakos ÁrpĂĄd Trio.
• June 12: Children’s programmes, literary discussions, and presentations by Anna TerĂ©k, OttĂł Fenyvesi, and Attila BalĂĄzs.
• June 13: Debut book launches, literary studies presentations, and events featuring JĂĄnos SzentmĂĄrtoni and JĂĄnos GĂ©czi.
• June 14: Family programmes, ÁdĂĄm BƑsze’s lecture on Vivaldi, and closing events with Schein GĂĄbor and AndrĂĄs Visky.

Author signing highlights

Among the featured signing sessions:

• June 11: SzabĂł Imola Julianna, PĂ©ter NyulĂĄsz, Aaron Blumm, and LĂĄszlĂł VĂ©gel.
• June 12: BorbĂĄla SzabĂł, Anna TerĂ©k, Attila BalĂĄzs, and OttĂł Fenyvesi.
• June 13: OttĂł Kiss, Csenge VirĂĄg Zalka, AdĂ©l HorvĂĄth, JĂĄnos SzentmĂĄrtoni, JĂĄnos GĂ©czi, and Bodza RĂ©ka Csizmadia.
• June 14: Eszter T. MolnĂĄr, ÁdĂĄm BƑsze, GĂĄbor Schein, NĂłra Lajtos, and AndrĂĄs Visky.

All events will take place at the Aranybika Hotel (Piac Street 11–15, Debrecen), while the book fair itself will be held on the promenade in front of the hotel.

You can find the full program in Hungarian .