Hungary is planning on celebratiing the 500th anniversary of Reformation in Europe with around 400 events, it has been reported.
A government commissioner has revealed that the program will open with an arts performance in Budapest’s Palace of Arts on January 6, Károly Hafenscher, the head of the organizing committee, told MTI.
On April 25 a rock version of Handel’s oratorio Messiah will be performed in the Müpa, he said.
A large-scale exhibition presenting the history of protestant Reformation and its influence on Europe and Hungary will open in the Hungarian National Museum on April 26, he added.
Wittenberg, the birthplace of Reformation, will host Hungarian Days from August 24 and 27, including a conference, an exhibition and a concert, the commissioner said.
Further programs during the year will include a commemorative session in Hungarian Parliament’s upper chamber, October 5, and a joint session of the synods of the Lutheran and the Reformed churches, October 13.
In a major event, a large-scale arts festival will be held in the Budapest László Papp Sports Arena on October 31st, which 13,000 people are expected to attend.
The budget earmarked for next year’s anniversary events is 1 billion HUF, the commissioner said.