Day of Szeged 2024 – celebration at Széchenyi Square
The 2024 Day of Szeged celebration was held in front of the City Hall at Széchenyi Square on May 17.
After the Turkish invasion, Szeged got its royal free city status back in 1715. It received a coat of arms on May 21, 1719, and this day is still celebrated today as the Day of Szeged. Every year, the municipality celebrates the Day of Szeged with a festive assembly, accompanied by dance and music performances.
Similarly to previous years, the performance of the Fricsay Ferenc Brass Band opened the event, while a wreath was laid at the statue of King Béla IV – who gave Szeged its city status after the Tatar invasion, in 1247 – by Sándor Nagy, deputy mayor for urban development.
As usual, the assembly began with the Szeged fanfare, the national anthem, and the raising of the national flag. After the performance of the Szeged National Theatre's Dance Team, Mayor László Botka held his festive speech.
"We have three important reasons to celebrate today. It is May, the month of Szeged's birthday. This is when we celebrate the regained freedom of our city," the mayor began his speech. "This year, moreover, we celebrate not only the 305th anniversary of the status of a free city but also the 145th anniversary of the rebirth of Szeged. 145 years ago, the Tisza washed away the old adobe city so that the beautiful palatial Szeged could be built in its place with European cooperation and the support of European capitals. And the third significant anniversary is that twenty years ago the thousand-year dream of [King] St. Stephen came true. Hungary and Szeged joined the European Union twenty years ago," he added.
The most prestigious awards of the city are presented during the festive assembly. This year, Béla Gál, retired director of the Radnóti Miklós High School, received the Honorary Citizen title. In honor of the honorary citizen, actor Gergő Krausz performed the poem Pedagógus (Teacher) by Lajos Füle.
The Szeged Symphony Orchestra, together with Csillag Róza Nagy on the violin, performed Lángok (Flames) by István Benedekfi and Zoltán Benedekfi. The piece is part of the soundtrack of an American-Vietnamese film that won several awards, including the audience award at the 19th Fukuoka Film Festival and the Golden Dragon Award in Vietnam.
Pro Urbe Awards were presented to Ferenc Jójárt, founding owner and CEO of Goodwill Pharma, and Ernő Duda Jr., multiple award-winning entrepreneur, and founder of Solvo Biotechnology and Medipredict.
After the Pro Urbe Awards, Krisztina Kónya, an opera singer of the Szeged National Theatre, performed O sole mio with the Szeged Symphony Orchestra.
Szeged Memorial Medals were received by András Echéry-Pataki, CEO of the Szeged Contemporary Dance Company, photographer Máté Sütő, and Imre Huszta, who has been working in public transport in Szeged for almost four decades.
The one-hour-long festive assembly concluded with a performance of Erkel's Bánk Bán opera and the Szózat, the second most important anthem of Hungary.
Photos: Szilvia Molnar / Szegedify
