A VERY DYNAMIC INAUGURAL PARADE!
The organisers kept to another well-established tradition, that of the inaugural parade held on Saturday December 1st, when all the participants, most of them dressed in their regional or national costumes, and with their flags fluttering in the breeze, march through the streets of the host city, by way of an invitation to come and visit the exhibition.
And this is what happened again in Budapest, more precisely in the Köbanya district, departing from the Cultural Centre where the delegations had gathered. In bright sunshine, but in temperatures close to zero, the procession moved off in a well-behaved and cheerful atmosphere, with a police escort to avoid the possibility of accidents. After crossing a major crossroads, the parade continued as far as a square before retracing its steps and pushing back towards the town hall where a choir of four teachers from another school was singing Christmas carols. The mayor of the district, Robert Kovacs, warmly addressed the group to wish them all an excellent stay in Budapest and in Köbanya, as well as a Merry Christmas. Before the group photograph in front of the church, at the instigation of the four-man choir everyone sang ‘Silent night, holy night’ or ‘Douce nuit sainte nuit’ or more precisely the original ‘Stille Nacht heilige Nacht ‘, each singing in his or her own language. This was a shared moment of emotion, in a very Christmassy atmosphere, before the participants returned to the Cultural Centre where visitors from the local area crowded inside and besieged the stands!
The parade forms up in front of the Cultural Centre
Crossing the crossroads!
Around the square with Csilla Dévényi and Christiane Keller
Little children are not forgotten when sweets are handed out!
Robert Kovacs, the mayor of Köbanya, speaks to the participants
The traditional group photo
