Diána Széles, Vice Mayor for the Tourism of Debrecen, proclaimed “togetherness” the main message of the 50th Debrecen Flower Carnival.

Everybody has come together to make the 50th Debrecen Flower Carnival memorable: the citizens of Debrecen, those living in the neighbourhood of the city, even twin cities, and, as a result, this year’s flower celebration can be one of the most beautiful carnivals of the last few years, with spectacular programs accompanying the event, added Diána Széles.
This year, shop windows in the city centre will turn to bloom as well, several shops already have their decorations in place.

Edit Erdei, Director of Sales and Finances for Cívisház Zrt. highlighted that 50 shops and other establishments have joined their “50 years, 50 shop windows” initiative, in which shop owners could pick a year and use documents and photographs about the Flower Carnival in that year, along with typical clothes and accessories, and, of course, a multitude of flowers, to evoke their chosen year.

Edit Bódor, the head organizer of the Flower Carnival explained that the number 50 is present in almost every event of this year’s carnival. A piece of more than 100 years old leaven is used to bake the bread of Debrecen, 50 loaves of which will be distributed among different institutions all over the city. 50 simultaneous chess games will be played in Kölcsey Centre, while several cars older than 50 years will be featured in the parade of classic cars. Two of these cars, a 50-year-old BMW 2000 CS sports car and a Fiat 850, were displayed at Friday’s press event; both cars belong to Imre Szathmári, a member of Debrecen’s classic cars club. The collector said that he currently owns 30 classic cars, all of them fully operational.

From Friday onwards, pedestrians can enter the square in from of Nagytemplom (Great Church) via a gate decorated with flowers, bearing the number 50, and fountains on the main square will also be decorated with illuminable flower arrangements, added Edit Bódor.

Zsuzsanna Szerdi, director of Hotel Lycium, calls attention to an entirely new carnival event: the “Fiesta Cubana Debrecen” will bring a Cuban atmosphere to Debrecen for two nights on Baltazár Dezső tér. There will be concerts, dance presentations, animations, Cuban food and drink delicacies, a cigar corner and salsa parties until midnight on 16 and 17 August in the city centre, she explains.

MTI Hungarian News Agency
Press photographer: János Miskolci