Concert in Budapest urges Hungarians to vote against Orbán ahead of election

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A concert in Budapest on Friday brought tens of thousands of people to Heroes’ Square and nearby streets, as organizers billed the event as a call to action for voters ahead of Hungary’s closely watched elections on Sunday. The “system-breaking” megaconcert, featuring dozens of popular performers, turned into a highly charged anti-government setting meant to pressure citizens to back opposition parties in the final stretch.

Organizers said the lineup included more than 50 acts, with each performer playing one song during the seven-hour show. Organizers also said the musical program was designed as a public demonstration for voters, portraying it as a way to end impunity and to show the scale of dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government.

The crowd, described by attendees as largely made up of young people, frequently broke into anti-government chants during the concert, including “Ruszkik haza!” or “Russians go home!” The AP report said the refrain has roots in Hungary’s 1956 anti-Soviet revolution, and it has taken renewed significance amid Orbán’s increasingly close relations with Moscow.

Heléna Sugár, 19, told the Associated Press that she was drawn by some of her favorite artists, but she emphasized that the political purpose mattered more. “I listen to these performers every day. But now the most important thing here is the political goal,” she said. “I think it is important to show how many of us think this way, how many of us think that the time for this system is over and it is time for us to change.”

The event was organized by the Civic Resistance Movement, which said each song was meant to be critical of what it described as a corrupt regime and to demonstrate to voters that the era of impunity was ending. In addition to the crowd of more than 100,000 people in the streets, the report said more than 100,000 others were watching a livestream online.

While the concert drew broad anger, the Associated Press report tied the mood in part to generational divides in Hungary. The report described widening differences between younger voters, who are pushing for an end to Orbán’s autocratic rule, and older citizens, who it said remain loyal to the prime minister.

Orbán and his Fidesz party’s declining popularity is coming amid economic stagnation, as well as political and corruption scandals, the report said. The AP also pointed to the rise of the Tisza party and its leader, Péter Magyar, as the largest threat to Orbán’s grip on power in nearly two decades.

The Associated Press report cited a recent survey by pollster 21 Research Center showing that 65% of voters under 30 support Tisza while 14% back Orbán. It also quoted 22-year-old Noel Iván, who said he immigrated from Hungary to Austria seeking a better life but would like to return and “plan the future at home,” which he described as “currently hopeless and deeply sad.” He added that even though he does not see himself as conservative, he wants to “contribute to regime change by voting for the Tisza party.”

Performers ranged across Hungary’s mainstream music scene, including Azahriah, Beton.Hofi and Krúbi, and alternative rock bands Quimby and Ivan and the Parasol, according to the report. Another act, Galaxisok, was represented by frontman Benedek Szabó, who told the Associated Press that Hungary’s close connections with Moscow amount to “selling out the EU allies to Russia.” “Everyone’s fed up, and everyone’s ready to finally change this system, to finally send a message,” he said. “Not only today, but the day after tomorrow, that we’ve had enough, and we want to belong to Europe.”

The report said Galaxisok performed a song that laments missed opportunities and wasted years under Orbán’s rule, but its final stanza shifts into a defiant theme, with lyrics stating, “We’ve had enough, once and for all. In the end, all regimes fall.”

The concert’s messaging reflects how political organizing in Hungary is reaching beyond party rallies, using celebrity platforms and mass gatherings to focus attention on voting decisions due Sunday—when millions of people will decide whether to renew Orbán’s leadership or replace it.