The Magyar Sziget festival (''Hungarian Island'') is a nationalist festival organised in the Hungarian city of
Verőce, by the
Sixty-Four Counties Youth Movement
The Sixty-Four Counties Youth Movement ( hu, Hatvannégy Vármegye Ifjúsági Mozgalom, HVIM) is a far-right movement originating in Hungary and also present in Romania, Slovakia and Serbia, advocating the unification of all ethnic Hungarians tha ...
(HVIM) under the leadership of
László Toroczkai
László Toroczkai (born László Tóth, 10 March 1978) is a Hungarian politician, journalist, leader of the Our Homeland Movement political party, and former mayor of Ásotthalom. He is also a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Counci ...
. In 2015 the location was changed to
Velence
Velence is a town in the county of Fejér, Hungary, on the shore of Lake Velence.
Its name is the same in Hungarian as that of the Italian city of Venice, though they are suffixed differently: "in Velence" is ''Velencén'', while ''Velencében'' ...
. The name itself is an example of the feeling of isolation of
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
. It can be seen as a metaphor for the 'island' of Hungary within a sea of non-Finno-Ugric languages. The festival is not to be confused with the 'normal' Hungarian
Sziget festival.
Organisation
Although the festival is organised by a nationalist and
irredential movement, it does not solely feature nationalist bands. 'Normal' Hungarian (rock)bands are booked for the festival as well, and cultural demonstrations are part of the program.
In 2001 Toroczkai started the festival as a summer camp for his youth movement. At that point, the name was still 'Grand National Youth Meeting'. The next year, this name would be changed to Magyar Sziget. Reinforcing the national identity amongst participants was one of the goals of the festival, and thus the inspiration for the new name. Although the festival started off as a week-long event, it has since been shortened to just two days in more recent years. Magyar Sziget changes every year, but the Hungarian bands and cultural activities that support Hungarian heritage remain the main focus.
In recent years the festival was downsized, but alternative festivals have been organised as well. The organisers have set up an 'Uplands Hungarian Island' (''Felvidéki Magyar Sziget'') festival in
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
in some years. There is a ''
Székely Sziget'' (in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
) and a summer camp for children, ''Nemzeti Gyerektábor'' ('National Childrenscamp') as well. Organiser Toroczkai has referred to the 'normal' ''Sziget'' festival in
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
as an "anti-Hungarian event". In a
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
newspaper, he described his own ''Magyar Sziget'' as "our island in a multi-ethnic, globalising world". The ''Magyar Sziget'' festival is supposedly organised to counter the 'international' character of ''Sziget''.
Foreign visitors
In part due to the nationalist shows, the festival does attract foreign visitors, even though it targets Hungarians as an audience. In 2012 members of
Voorpost
Voorpost ("Outpost (military), outpost, Picket (military), picket") is an ethnic nationalism, ethno-nationalist (''völkisch movement, volksnationalist'') group founded in Flanders, Belgium by Karel Dillen in 1976 as a splinter from the Volksunie. ...
attended Magyar Sziget. Other nationalist organisations are present as well. A member of the
British National Party
The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK gover ...
visited the festival grounds, but was promptly banned as a member of his partly.
Reputation
The festival is known as nationalist and partly
far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
. Despite that reputation, it is not known for any particular disturbances. A Dutch reporter noted it as being a well-organised family event. During the first festival in 2002 attendees helped the citizens of Verőce with flood works to protect their town.
Magyar Sziget kultúránk tengerén
, ''MNO'' (Hungarian), 19-08-2002
References
{{Hungarian far right
Hungarian nationalism
Music festivals in Hungary
Music festivals established in 2001
Summer events in Hungary