Budapest transport accommodates extra festival traffic

Budapest's traffic will begin to slowly ramp up as of Monday, as the city embraces the crowds flocking to the 17th annual music Sziget Festival, which is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors, many of them from abroad.

Budapest Transport Company BKV plans to step up its services for the week-long festival whose official programme starts on Wednesday, but Monday and Tuesday will feature "warm-up" concerts on the northern Budapest island which hosts the festival.

Organisers advise visitors to leave their cars at home and use public transport, one of the festival buses which connects the island with the city centre, or "float" to the island by the regular boat service from Jaszai Mari ter and Vigado on the Pest side and Batthyany ter on the Buda side. Bicycle rental is also available at the Sziget entrance or in the city centre.

Festival press chief Viktoria Veto told MTI that several counterfeit tickets have been spotted. Staff are now regularly warning people in areas outside the festival grounds to buy tickets only from authorised sellers.

Monday's "minus one day" feature programme is a farewell concert by Kispal es a Borz, a renowned Hungarian alternative rock band formed in 1987.

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