2019 Budapest Burns Supper
A huge thank you to everyone that attended the Annual Budapest Burns Supper on 26 January 2019. The 22nd annual event was held as ever in the Grand Ballroom of the Corinthia Hotel Budapest.
As a Burns Supper there are many traditional elements, such as the Address to the Haggis, performed by the lead piper Rab Tait in his own inimitable way. Guests are also treated to Scotland’s national dish of haggis, neeps and tatties as a starter, with many asking for more! This year, UPS stepped up to bring over 140 kg of haggis and cheese from Scotland to Budapest for the Burns Supper.
The entertainment this year was a veritable mix of Scottish and Hungarian culture. First of all we heard the wonderful voice of Rebecka Johnston, singing some traditional Scottish folk songs. Then we had the amazingly talented Alison Ewan, a Scottish fiddler who flew out specifically to be with us at the Burns Supper. After Alison played for us she was joined on stage by a Hungarian fiddler and the rest of the Corinthia’s resident band for a truly delightful international performance.
The Budapest Burns Suppers have been growing and growing, and have been sell-outs in the last few years. The superb venue provides a great setting for some serious fundraising in the course of the evening, which was helped this year by our auction, which we took online for the very first time, and this led to some great competition for the great prizes on offer.
Overall we raised just short of HUF 14 million, which will be donated to the 2nd Department of Paediatrics in Tűzoltó utca, the Péterfy Children’s Hospital, and other projects to be announced over the coming months by the Robert Burns International Foundation.
Sponsor of the Year was Budapest Airport, a huge thanks to them, but the event can never be held without the support of our other major sponsors too:
Nevis Sponsors: FirstMed Centers, BP
Saltire Sponsors: BlackRock, Woodbrook Wealth, Generali Insurance
Thistle Sponsors: Provident, CBRE
Auction/raffle sponsor: Qatar Airways
You can find the photos from the Burns Supper in our gallery, but also take a look at the video below which really captures the atmosphere at the event, and we are grateful to Péter Thoman at Inter-PR for his voluntary help in recording all the great photo and video memories.
The organisers would also like to thank WhiskyNet, Arran Distillery, CocaCola, Heineken, Diageo, Zwack, Miko Coffee, Szentkirályi-Kékkúti Water and Vylyan Wineries, as well as all those who helped with the raffle and the auction.
Make sure you like the RBIF Facebook page or follow us on Instagram or Twitter to be sure of hearing all the details about next year’s event in good time, and to find out what projects the RBIF will be supporting throughout 2019.
The Robert Burns International Foundation (RBIF) is supported by the British Ambassador to Hungary and the Hungarian Ambassador to the UK. The Honorary President of the foundation is Sir Alex Ferguson, former manager of Manchester United football club. In the last 20 years the organisation has raised several hundred thousand euros to help sick and underprivileged children.
Contact: [email protected]
