The Magyar Sziget festival (, ''Hungarian Island'') is a nationalist festival organised in the Hungarian city of
Verőce, by the
Sixty-Four Counties Youth Movement (HVIM) under the leadership of
László Toroczkai. In 2015 the location was changed to
Velence. The name itself is an example of the feeling of isolation of
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...
. 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, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
in some years. There is a ''
Székely Sziget'' (in
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
) 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 city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
as an "anti-Hungarian event". In a
Dutch 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 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 politics, far-right, British fascism, fascist list of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and is led by Adam ...
visited the festival grounds, but was promptly banned as a member of his party.
Reputation
The festival is known as nationalist and partly
far-right
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
. Despite that reputation, it is not known to have had 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 in Hungary