I hope it does not seem inappropriate or overly familiar to address them as friends, but this year we are preparing for the 35th Budapest Wine Festival, and perhaps such a long journey gives me the right to think of the people and organisations who have accompanied our event over the years as friends.
On the occasion of this special anniversary, the most important thing is to express our gratitude to all those who have supported our work over the past decades.
Our main sponsor, SPAR Hungary, is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year as well. For nearly twenty years, they have provided us with financial stability and set an example of high standards and precision. They also provide significant support for the festival’s overall marketing campaign.
We are grateful, too, to our contractors and service partners, whose work has a decisive influence on how the festival’s services are perceived. We set the bar high for them, but we have had relationships with most of them for decades, and we remain loyal to them.
The Várkapitányság, which provides the venue for the Wine Festival, and the major construction companies carrying out the projects they coordinate also deserve our special thanks. Without their help and flexibility, it would be impossible to find solutions to the technical and logistical challenges created by the ongoing renovation works.
Our exhibitors – wine producers, distributors and hospitality professionals - are not only the subjects and central figures of the Wine Festival, but also embody the very purpose we seek to serve. By supporting them, we are contributing to the development of Hungarian wine culture as a whole, which is our mission.
And then there are our visitors and guests, whose number has by now certainly exceeded one million. Thank you for your trust and for taking part in the festival, as well as for the many words of appreciation and the constructive criticism you have shared with us. We can promise that we will continue to do everything we can to maintain the festival’s high standards while ensuring its continuous renewal.
Naturally, we are also very grateful to our other business partners, patrons and members of the cultural community, because together they complete this “circle of friends”.
By now, the Budapest Wine Festival has become a very well-known and highly regarded social event – an occasion where it is good to be, to meet and talk with acquaintances and friends, to enjoy the selection of fine wines, sparkling wines and food, and to say goodbye to the carefree weeks of summer.
One of the important elements of the festival’s success is its continuous renewal, and this year several changes will reflect that as well. The opening days are changing: we will open on Wednesday and close the event on Saturday evening.
We would like to create more opportunities for our exhibitors and wine consumers to meet and exchange professional knowledge, so we are introducing a new discounted ticket option, the Explorer Day Ticket. Visitors using this ticket will need to arrive at the festival before 5 p.m., and we hope that this will encourage even more people to come in the afternoon – visitors who are thirsty not only for wine, but also for knowledge.
Once again, thank you to all our partners, and I wish our visitors beautiful weather and a wonderful time at the festival!
Zoltán Zilai
Director of the Budapest Wine Festival
