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This year’s MTV European Music Awards (MTV EMA) were unusual for a number of reasons. The awards ceremony has been held since 1994, and it was the first time that the organizers presented a virtual show, which was inevitable due to the coronavirus epidemic. The gala also had two hosts for the first time, Hungary and England, and Hungary was the first in the region to host the event.
And how much did it all cost?
“The original plan was to host a traditional MTV awards ceremony this year, which was not possible due to the coronavirus epidemic. The organizing edition of this unusual virtual show was a fraction of what it was to have the event properly organized in front of the spectators, and this cost was borne by MTV, including equipment and rent, that is. David Guetta played music from the Széchenyi Spa, it didn’t cost Hungary a forint. In addition, the capital was looking for him, because they asked to rent the empty bathroom in Széchenyi ”. Zoltán Guller, executive director of the Hungarian Tourism Agency (MTÜ), told Index.
Budapest can get a leg up on the competition for tourists
At the event, which was broadcast in 180 countries around the world, viewers were able to take a virtual tour, behind the scenes and enjoy views of Veszprém and Esztergom, as well as Budapest. And they can do the same in 2021, hopefully already live, and not just virtually.
Because Budapest is the first city to host one of the largest light music events in the world for two years in a row.
According to Zoltán Guller, the coronavirus presents us with extreme difficulties, but the MTV EMA is a great opportunity for Hungary, and not only because international events contribute greatly to the development of a positive image of the country, but also because they have great potential in tourism terms.
In the international tourist competition that will soon resume, it will be an advantage for Budapest and Hungary if the eyes of the world are on us. We want to be winners in the transformation of tourism. Next year’s MTV EMAs will be a new chapter and even a new book in the history of Hungarian tourism.
– says Zoltán Guller, who also told our newspaper how much it will cost to hold the awards ceremony next year, about which he could not provide information due to the agreement with MTV, but they worked so that MTV ignored him and made the details public.
We don’t count the numbers on the allegations against us not because we didn’t want to or didn’t have any secrets, but because the MTV contract was a trade secret at the request of MTV. The net expenditure related to the organization will be 1,680,000 euros in 2021, which will be used entirely in Hungary in hotels, restaurants, companies participating in events and in venues for events. It also provides significant assistance to those working in the national tourism and entertainment industry.
– Zoltán Guller told our newspaper.
HUF 600 million award ceremony
The budget of 1.68 million euros (approximately 600 million HUF) consists of the following elements:
- Accommodation expenses related to the award ceremony (teachers, staff, staff, MTV guests): 250 thousand euros;
- the costs of all logistics, travel, transportation, event organization, hospitality, entrance, security, traffic management, official licenses necessary for organizing and conducting the event: 650 thousand euros;
- the rental of a venue in Hungary, which hosts an evening concert before the award ceremony. This concert is also an event open to the public, whose place has not yet been decided, but it can be the Puskás Arena, the Plaza de los Héroes or a rural venue – 350 thousand euros;
- other expenses related to the concert (stage equipment, technical assistance) – 150 thousand euros;
- the rental costs of the MTV EMA headquarters (Papp László Budapest Sports Arena), the related service venue (presumably BOK Sports Hall) and the party after the awards ceremony: 280 thousand euros.
According to the CEO of MTÜ, the event will be a great challenge and trust him, the mass vaccination will start in spring, so the current nightmare will end in November and the event will be able to be held in front of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people. Awards ceremony, by which the biggest stars come to our country.
At the same time, Zoltán Guller does not have the stone of the wise, so an emergency scenario must be prepared, but they hope that the situation begins to improve and that domestic tourism recovers by the summer. This summer, for example, people spent 22 percent more at home than in 2019, indicating that the summer season will also be strong in 2021. There will be a steady increase in tourism, but the 2019 level, which contributed 13.5 percent to GDP in Hungary and represented the livelihood of 400 thousand people, it is not expected to be reached until 2024.
The tourism situation is dramatic
Of course, it is even further away, and for now it is difficult to see when tourism will reach the level of last year again, after all, commercial accommodations received 12.9 million guests for 31.5 million overnight stays, half of which were foreigners.
That number is by no means replaced by domestic tourism. Nor is it a matter of debate that the current situation is dramatic, although there was no problem in the countryside in summer, this summer at Lake Balaton almost evokes the GDR times on weekends. In the capital, however, the problem has been much greater since March, which can be explained by the bad business model in addition to the epidemic, since 93 percent of the hospitality industry in Budapest has been made up of foreigners, which it is not healthy at all.
The CEO drew attention.
According to Zoltán Guller, Budapest should mainly work to attract people from the countryside to the capital, get to know the many places of interest and feel that it is worth coming here. It is also the task of the Budapest tourism marketing organizations, NGO and service providers to carry out activities towards the rural population so that as many people as possible come to the capital.
Admittedly, this is not the time for this, after all, you have to get home by 8pm and you can’t sit in cafes or restaurants. However, the state will provide assistance, reimbursing 80 percent of reservations received by hotels before November 8 in the first 30 days after closing (according to the National Tourist Information Center, 928,000 guest nights were recorded), but only if workers are not fired. who receive their salary.
And restaurants and leisure facilities do not have to pay contributions during these 30 days for their employees, and the state reimburses half of the employees’ pay if there are no layoffs and they receive the pay. In addition, restaurants are not subject to a 7-hour closure at night, during curfew, they can be delivered to your home after 8 pm, while VAT on food delivered has been reduced from 27 percent to 5 percent.
The government has invested two billion euros in the sector, which is a tireless amount of money. The state, of course, has an important role to play in saving the sector, as do the owners, but we also expect a lot from the Metropolitan Municipality. It would be nice if they did something for the cause, after all, the municipalities also received a significant amount of tax revenue. Also, social responsibility is necessary for people to ask restaurants to ensure their survival.
Said Zoltán Guller, who said there wouldn’t be many hotels and restaurants that would have to go bankrupt.
Cover image: Index / Czerkl Gábor
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