Debrecen4U
October 14, 2025
The date is set: Debrecen secondary school students definitely won’t be sleeping that night
In the spring of 2026, during the period surrounding the city’s day, the fourth annual finals of the 24-hour competition marathon called “Debrecen24 – Sleep Another Time!” („Debrecen24 – Aludj máskor!”) will be held. Secondary school students have already begun preparing for it.
In the finals of the competition, the 12 teams that performed best in the qualifying round to be held on October 17, 2025, will be able to compare their skills. Through the 24-hour competition, secondary school students can get to know each other and Debrecen better, and they can achieve all this by completing creative, entertaining tasks. There will once again be creative and athletic challenges, but city knowledge tasks will not be left out either. The focus of the latter will be on the natural values of Debrecen.
The all-day competition, packed with playful tasks, is very popular among secondary school students. According to the organizers, the teams of 20 students per school will form a real community.
“They may not have met in the school building or just walked past each other, but now the challenge in which they have to fight together, the alliance they must form, is what brings this community together,” said János D. Halász, the executive director of DEMKI, at the team preparation event associated with the game’s press conference on October 15, 2025.
The tasks are put together by the staff of Nagyerdei Kultúrpark, among others: “We called this whole game, this whole morning, a detective task. The young people have to investigate certain things. They will do well, I am sure that this will be a successful game, a successful competition,” said Zoltán Váradi, the executive director of Nagyerdei Kultúrpark.
“Debrecen is a caring city, which is why it organizes entertainment opportunities that are best suited to all age groups,” explained Deputy Mayor Diána Széles at the team preparation event. According to the deputy mayor, the success of the 24-hour competition also shows that young people are willing to step out of the online world if they are offered interesting and valuable programs. During the 24-hour competition, they can get to know and love Debrecen better.
“The bond that we can develop in children with such an event will remain an eternal experience for them. After this, they will always think of the city as a place where they enjoyed living and loved living—or they won’t even want to move away from the city. It is an important goal for us to keep as many young people in the city as possible,” said Diána Széles.
On October 17, 2025, 320 students from 16 high schools will participate in the six-hour qualifiers of the “Sleep Another Time!” challenge. The 12 best teams will advance to the 24-hour competition next April.
Source and photo credit:debrecen.hu
