Spending New Year’s Eve in Budapest? Fireworks will be banned in touristy district – MAP
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Last year’s New Year’s Eve in Budapest highlighted the dangers of uncontrolled fireworks, with chaotic scenes at Vörösmarty Square leading to injuries and public outcry. In response, District 5 has introduced a strict ban on pyrotechnic devices in high-traffic areas, aiming to ensure safer celebrations this year.
Last year’s dangerous celebrations
As we have reported HERE, last year’s New Year’s Eve in Budapest turned dangerous as uncontrolled fireworks in Vörösmarty Square caused chaos and injuries among the celebrating crowds. Footage aired by RTL showed fireworks launched in a cordoned-off area without oversight, leading to accidents where fireworks landed in the crowd. One woman suffered burns to her hand and had her coat catch fire. The lack of regulation and authority control over pyrotechnic use has raised serious safety concerns, prompting Alex Gábor Kovács, leader of Tiéd a Belváros, to call for stricter rules on the sale and use of fireworks to prevent such incidents in the future.
A safer New Year’s Eve in Budapest
As HVG reports, Budapest’s District 5 has introduced a strict ban on pyrotechnic devices in high-traffic areas for New Year’s Eve, with fines of up to HUF 200,000 (EUR 488.77) for violators. Key locations such as Vörösmarty Square, Erzsébet Square, and St. Stephen’s Square in front of the Basilica will be firework-free zones. The decree, passed unanimously by the district’s representative body, also extends to other busy areas in the city centre, aiming to ensure safety during the festive period.
