Hot Now

The last month of summer is one of the most exciting times in Debrecen’s life, as the city’s biggest and most popular festival, the Debrecen Flower Carnival, takes place during this time. But beyond the carnival’s week-long program of events, there’s more to experience in Debrecen. In August, you can enjoy the city’s most atmospheric outdoor festival, the Debrecen Wine and Jazz Days, exciting theatre and dance performances on the Nagyerdei Open-Air Stage, and the world-famous Turkish media artist Refik Anadol will make his debut at MODEM, following New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

The Debrecen Wine and Jazz Days is Hungary’s oldest jazz festival, held every year since 1972 except 2020. This year, between 8 and 11 August, wine lovers and jazz enthusiasts are welcome to the Great Forest, where the festival is surrounded by green nature on the shores of Lake Békás during the day, while at night the view is dominated by a magical forest of lights and an enchanting water mirror.

Once again Debrecen will host one of the world’s most prestigious musical events, the Béla Bartók International Choir Competition, organized by Jeunesses Musicales Hungary and Kodály Philharmonia Debrecen!

The popular representative of the Hungarian jazz-world-progressive rock fusion genre, Djabe and ex member of Genesis, the world famous guitarist, Steve Hackett will perform at the Debrecen Wine and Jazz Days on the 11th of August 2024.

Two exciting new exhibitions are coming soon to the MODEM Center for Modern and Contemporary Art. On 20 July, a retrospective exhibition of sculptor Mária Berhidi, who died last year, opened, and from 3 August, the video work Rumi Dreams by acclaimed Turkish multimedia artist Anadol Refik will be on show.

The Campus Festival, one of Hungary’s biggest light music and cultural events that has been around for more than a decade and a half, will start on July 24 at the familiar location, around the Nagyerdei Stadium. This time, the most popular Hungarian performers will take the stage at the festival, from Azahriah to Majka, from Margaret Island to Tankcsapda, but also up-and-coming young talents will be presented, and many international stars will also arrive, including Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Martin Solveig, Mando Diao, Danko Jones, Gayle, Queen Omega and Rita Ora.

Only two weeks to go until the biggest party of the summer starts on July 24th in the Great Forest! The Campus Festival will feature top Hungarian acts like Azahriah, Majka, Tankcsapda, Blahalouisiana and Carson Coma, as well as emerging young talent and a host of international stars including Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Martin Solveig, Mando Diao, Danko Jones, Gayle, Queen Omega and Rita Ora. In addition to music, other arts such as dance and theatre, visual arts and stand-up will also feature.

Want to go for an ice cream? What’s your favorite? How many scoops do you want? – are the questions, because with the summer heat, the real season of ice cream has arrived in Debrecen.

This year, for the fourth time, the Debrecen Street Music Days will fill the squares on the weekend of 19-20 July.

For those who want to escape the heat but also want a cultural experience, head to a cool museum! The city’s museums and galleries offer a range of exciting exhibitions, giving visitors a unique insight into the city’s local and cultural history, as well as the secrets of classical, modern and contemporary art. The current exhibition at the Déri Museum tells the story of the bombing of Debrecen 80 years ago, the MODEM shows emblematic landscapes and still lifes from the last hundred years, the House of Literature in Debrecen has a number of special exhibits on the giant writer Jókaι, while the Bényi Gallery features fantastic photographs by photographer Éva Keleti.

Summer is no time to miss the cinema, and it’s perhaps even more fun to watch a film when the garden cinemas open, where you can immerse yourself in the world of cinema under the stars for a few hours. There are two outdoor screenings in Debrecen: in the inner garden of MODEM and in the courtyard of 24 Batthyány Street.

Where better to endure the hottest days of summer than on the water? Hungary’s most modern outdoor aquapark, Aquaticum Strand is not only a great way to beat the heat, but also a great place to get super wet, all under the vast shade canopies of the Great Forest. The Aquaticum Strand, which has won numerous international awards, offers 5,700 square meters of water, 15 different pools, a 12-metre-high sun deck, giant slides, diving platforms and many more water attractions and activities.

The European University Games is one of the world’s largest multi-sport events, where athletes from European universities compete against each other. The event is organized every two years by a university city, Debrecen and Miskolc in 2014. More than 5,000 participants from 400 universities in 40 countries are expected to take part in the multisport event, which will feature 17 sports in total, between 12 and 24 July 2024.

Observed on the second Saturday in July, Miniature Train Day is a tradition worth building upon, so we and our partners have in store a whole weekend of thematic activities for July 13 and 14.