Debrecen4U March 23, 2026

Strong Turnout at the Third “Move, Debrecen!” Sports Carnival in Főnix Arena

The Move, Debrecen! Sports Carnival was held for the third time on March 22, once again proving that physical activity is not only healthy but also a shared community experience. In recent years, the Move, Debrecen! programme has reached several hundred thousand people and has now become one of the city’s most successful initiatives. The aim of the event is to make the opportunity for an active lifestyle accessible to an even wider audience.

Held at the Főnix Arena last Sunday, the 3rd “Move, Debrecen!” Sports Carnival once again attracted great interest, placing sport, health awareness and community building at its centre. Participants were welcomed by Deputy Mayor Diána Széles, who emphasised that over the past five years the “Move, Debrecen!” programme has achieved outstanding results, with 288,000 participations recorded across its various activities.

The Deputy Mayor stated that the initiative has now become one of the city’s defining community and health promotion programmes, which continues to expand and is available at an increasing number of locations. She highlighted that free exercise opportunities are already provided at 25 external venues, allowing residents of Debrecen to join the programme close to where they live.

She also pointed out that this year’s format of the Sports Carnival deliberately opens up to a broader audience, as the aim is for as many people as possible to experience the power of community sport. She stressed that the trainers appearing at the event are professionals whom participants can also meet during weekday sessions held across the city. In her speech, she also addressed the fact that one of the greatest challenges of modern urban life is a sedentary lifestyle. As she put it: regular physical activity carried out within a community is also an effective response to anxiety and mental health issues. The “Move, Debrecen!” programme series supports this aim.

Diána Széles also expressed her thanks to the instructors involved in the programme, who work day by day to make the joy of physical activity accessible to the people of Debrecen. She emphasised that without their dedication and work, the programme could not have achieved its current success.

The Sports Carnival also functioned as a kind of open day, where visitors could gain insight into the everyday life of “Move, Debrecen!” and try out various forms of exercise – from aerobics and Zumba to Pilates, spine exercises and even senior dance sessions.

Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu