Miskolc against the Odds Chances for Urban Art Festivals in Hungary Péter Inkei (assisted by Zsuzsa Hunyadi, Judit Friss and Gábor Mondik)

Population

Longing away

Linguistic incompetence

Dislike for Roma

Mission “…launched the first Bartók + Verdi event in 2001 with a no less ambitious goal in mind than creating a new festival tradition and putting Miskolc on the cultural map of the world as a new and fascinating tourist attraction. The idea was to create an annual International Opera Festival for the Eastern European public with a focus on Béla Bartók + another internationally acknowledged composer (it was Verdi in 2001, Puccini in 2002, Mozart in 2003, Tchaikovsky in 2004), later broadened to include distinct styles (the composers of Bel canto in 2005, those of Verismo in 2006, the French composers in 2007, and will be the Slav composers in 2008). The main aim of the festival is to encourage cultural co- operation between Hungarian artists and artists within the European Union, especially in the contemporary and classical music performance (opera and ballet), focusing on Béla Bartók, one of the most original figures in 20th century music.”

Centrally supported festivals no Happy Art Nyíregyháza noyesFlower Parade Debrecen no yes yes none Bartók + Opera Castle Folk Miskolc yes Open Air Festival Szeged no none little various Days of Pécs Pécs yes no little none Baroque Mediawave Győr Site specific? Generic relationship Main festivals

Audience satisfaction with the festivals

Improvement of festivals

Curiosity about cultural matters

Culture in the branding of the city

Attending festivals

Importance attached to festivals

Proposed share for culture in the city budget

Main obstacles Unsuitable art infrastructure at traditional and alternative venues. Lack of good hotels and restaurants. Unsatisfactory language skills of the population (private communication, general services). Limited skills of civilian co-operation and self help, no volunteering traditions. City leaders rarely incorporate culture into strategic visions. Few sponsors with strategic thinking and disposable resources.