The opening ceremony of the 32nd Budapest Spring Festival took place on Friday at the Museum of Applied Arts. The event was attended by Mayor of Budapest István Tarlós and Minister for Rural Development Sándor Fazekas, who stated that the event not only supports culture, but also enables visitors interested in Hungary to become better acquainted with the country.

In his speech, Sándor Fazekas reminded those present that the Budapest Spring Festival has been working hard for over thirty years to make our nation more well known by providing guests with a cultural programme that is famous throughout Europe and entire World. As such, he added, it not only supports culture, but also enables visitors and tourists interested in Hungary to become better acquainted with the country.

The Minister also mentioned the fact that Hungary has been on the front pages of European newspapers for several months now. As he too stated, such news has unfortunately often painted a false and insincere picture of us, of our country and of our nation. Visitors will soon see that here too live cultured, European people, and that instead of hatred, a warm welcome will be what awaits them – underlined the Minister.

The Minister also spoke of the fact that Hungary has been furthering European culture for ten centuries, contributing to world development. As he put it, "We are part of the culture of this continent, and can proudly stand up before the world with our unique values; because Europe and the World are more precious, the more they are varied."

In his welcoming speech, Sándor Fazekas expressed his wish that – in addition to traditional values – the 2012 Budapest Spring Festival should serve the forming of the true, positive image of our country, the authentic presentation of Hungary to Europe and the World, and as such contribute to peaceful development and the earliest possible achievement of our common goals.

The Mayor of Budapest also took part in the opening ceremony, observing that it was an excellent choice to organise one of the most prestigious events in the cultural calendar at the Museum of Applied Arts. In the words of István Tarlós, our cultural values fit in perfectly among universal cultural values.

On the Budapest Spring Festival, he stated that the event should simultaneously present the values of the past, as well as the work of contemporary Hungarian and foreign artists and performers.

(kormany.hu)