All 21 program venues have been completed, and the capacity of the main stage area has been expanded from the previous 16,000-18,000 to 22,000-23,000 people, said Festival Director Péter Miklósvölgyi on Tuesday during a press tour of the Campus Festival, which opens on Wednesday.
In response to MTI’s inquiry, he added that the total cost of the festival is around two billion forints, half of which is covered by ticket sales, while the rest is financed through sponsorships and the profit margin from hospitality. He also noted that Campus in Debrecen is one of the most affordable festivals in the country — for example, drinks are sold directly by student workers without involving intermediaries.
As an example, Péter Miklósvölgyi mentioned that a garlic lángos (Hungarian flatbread) costs 890 forints, there will be venues where a pint of beer costs 790 forints, and one of the supermarket chains is offering a freshly prepared grill platter for two at 2,500-3,000 forints.
Program Director András Süli added that Campus, located around the Nagyerdei Stadium, is one of the best-equipped festivals in the country in terms of infrastructure. At the same time, for those who prefer a more retro atmosphere, an area has been set up to evoke the more rustic, nomadic feeling of the former festivals held at Lake Vekeri.
On-site, 12 wooden houses have already been erected, where the various faculties and organizational units of the University of Debrecen (DE) will present themselves, the university’s press office informed MTI.
They added that for the first time this year, the university’s Sports Diagnostics, Lifestyle and Therapy Center will also join the festival’s program lineup as a new venue. Visitors will have access to screenings such as vision tests, cataract and glaucoma screenings, body composition analysis, and can also learn about essential self-examination techniques, foreign body removal maneuvers, resuscitation methods, and the use of semi-automatic defibrillators.
The official opening ceremony of this year’s Debrecen Campus Festival will take place on Wednesday at 7 p.m., although the gates will already open to visitors at 2 p.m., according to the organizers.
