The Water Tower on Margaret Island is a venue in the 2013 Budapest Summer Festival. Picture courtesy of Fearless Fred on Flickr.
As 2015 sees the celebration of 77 years of acclaimed concerts at Margaret Island Open-Air Theatre, expect the Budapest Summer Festival to set the world on fire. The summer-long music jamboree kicks off on June 1 with For My People by Ferenc Snétberger and Friends.
Other performances in Hungary’s biggest cultural festival, including musicals, ballet, dance, concerts, jazz and theater, take place over the whole summer, with the outdoor concerts on Margaret Island combining with the open-air venue at Városmajor, situated in a pretty park on the Buda side of the river.
Highlights of the 2015 Budapest Summer Festival program include the opera Carmen, Verdi’s opera Aida, Hungarian folk music and flamenco concerts. A recent addition to the festival as a venue, the water tower on Margaret Island forms the perfect backdrop for rock operas and the Jazzy Tower concerts that run at 7pm every Saturday evening between June 2 and September 1. The Children’s Stage adjacent to the Margaret Island Open-Air Theater runs kids’ puppet shows and children’s folk tales at 10.30am every Saturday from June 1 until August 30.
Cruise boats on the Danube depart to to Margaret Island from Vígadó Square, Batthyány Square and Dráva Street and leave between 6.45pm and 8pm, depending on scheduling of the performances. Boats are available for the return journey after the concerts. Tickets are 1,000 HUF for the return journey. The photogenic ruins of St Margaret’s Monastery are also free to explore on Sundays through out the festival.
Tickets can be purchased online, at the Szabad Square Ticket Office (1065 Budapest, Nagymező Street, 68) and at both the Margaret Island and Városmajor open-air stages. Prices range from 7,900 HUF to 9,900 HUF.