UNESCO Cities of Music meeting – Veszprém, Nov 2022

This year Veszprém hosted the annual gathering of the UNESCO Cities of Music between 30 November and 2 December. The three-day event welcomed close to twenty music city representatives,walking them through the sights and sounds of Veszprém.

Veszprém has recently emerged as a cultural hub, partly due to the galvanizing effect of the upcoming  European Capital of Culture year. In line with its rich heritage and bustling present the city already earned the prestigious Music City title in 2019, and became part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

The annual meetup of the Music Cities was organized in Veszprém, where delegates introduced their own cities’ music projects, and could explore the 2023 European Capital of Culture via a music focused city tour. As part of the programme the international team was welcomed by Gyula Porga, Mayor of Veszprém who spoke  about the musical and cultural heritage of the city and the challenges of the forthcoming ECoC year. Zoltán Mészáros, CEO of Veszprémfest gave delegates insight into the landmark festivals and popular music events of the city. The day concluded with the showcase concerts of Music Hungary Conference, presenting upcoming artists from the Hungarian music scene.

The main musical highlight was the next concert of the Music City Encounters series: a unique collaboration in Veszprém’s main venue Hangvilla. The evening saw the Kossuth Prize-winner singer, Mónika Lakatos and Mihály “Mazsi” Rostás, oláh gipsy musicians on stage, accompanied by the Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra. The memorable performance was greeted by a standing ovation.