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Lights go out on Hungary stadiums, theatres as energy crisis bites
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A detail of the first league football club FC Fehervar stadium is seen in Szekesfehervar, Hungary, on November 9, 2022. (AFP/Attila Kisbenedek)
R
ocketing energy bills are forcing Hungary to shutter libraries, theatres, swimming pools and even its new football stadiums for winter.
The state-of-the-art grounds -- symbols of right-wing nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban's 12 years in power -- are among a long list of buildings no longer able to cope with rising energy prices in the central European country.
Despite being one of the country's richest cities and being run by Orban's own party, Szekesfehervar is one of many closing its museums, libraries and theatres.
Its new 14,000-capacity city-run stadium also pulled down its shutters this month to save costs, said mayor Andras Cser-Palkovics.
"Community spaces are what make a city. No one was happy about the measures but they accepted that they are needed," Cser-Palkovics, a member of Orban's ruling Fidesz party, told AFP in Szekesfehervar's City Hall.
'Won't wait for miracles'
Like other cities, Szekesfehervar, 60 kilometres (37 miles) southwest of the capital Budapest, has tried to mitigate the effects of these closures.
