Food and drink price caps return in Hungary next week!

The Orbán cabinet first introduced price caps back in 2022 because of the high inflation rate affecting food products. However, they abolished the scheme in July. Now it appears that the price caps will be temporarily re-imposed in August at the time of two big national celebrations and events.

The World Athletics Championships 2023 will kick off next Saturday in Budapest’s brand-new athletics stadium, located near the Danube. Check out the photos and some details about the new building in THIS article. Ádám Schmidt said they aim for the championships to be more than just a sporting event. Therefore, they organise concerts and other programmes as well to keep visitors entertained from morning till evening.

Mr Schmidt added that they expect more than 1 billion sports fans to watch the competitions. They have already sold more than 300 thousand tickets to visitors from 102 countries. “No Hungarian sports event has ever attracted so many people”, he proudly highlighted. Training courts will open next Tuesday. Balázs Németh, the CEO of Budapest 2023 Non-profit Ltd, said they will introduce a price cap in the stadium’s restaurants and the fan zone. For instance, 0.5 l of mineral water will cost HUF 550 (EUR 1.5), while a can of beer will sit below HUF 1,000 (EUR 2.6), mfor.hu said.

The World Athletics Championships is the third biggest sports event in the world, following the Olympic Games and the football world cup.

Special price caps on the National Day of Hungary

The other occasion when you can buy food and beverages at a cheaper price in the heart of the Hungarian capital will be between 18 and 20 August. 20 August is Hungary’s national day, marking the foundation of the Christian Hungarian Medieval state in 1000 AD by Stephen I (997-1038). And since the government wants to ease the pressure on people, they will introduce a price cap on several products that day.

For example, a bottle of mineral water will cost only HUF 190 (EUR 0.5), while a piece of pretzel will be available for HUF 300 (EUR 0.8). That is way under the market prices. Furthermore, you will be able to buy beer for HUF 350 (EUR 0.9). Such prices will be applied between 18 and 20 August at the 20 Budapest venues of the celebrations. However, you will only be able to buy discounted foods and drinks from the official partners of the Saint Stephen Day programme. You can easily recognise them thanks to their striking logo. The weekend programme will be available soon, napi.hu wrote.

Read also our programme guide:

• 20 August in Budapest – programmes, food & drink prices

And why did we write that the government would introduce the aforementioned price caps? Because both major events are organised with state budget money. Thus, it’s the prime minister who came up with the decision to ease the prices.