Debrecen4U
December 11, 2025
The results of Hungary’s Youth Capital 2026 competition have been revealed
As reported, Debrecen also entered the competition this year to win the title of Youth Capital of Hungary 2026.
Debrecen and Székelyudvarhely applied for the victory together: the basic condition was that a Hungarian settlement in the motherland and a Hungarian settlement abroad should apply together. In addition to the glory and prestige, the winning cities will also receive a grant of 100 million forints each.
The semifinals were held in Budapest on December 5, and in recent days, based on the jury’s decision, three city pairs advanced automatically to the final: Debrecen–Székelyudvarhely, Kecskemét–Marosvásárhely, and Gödöllő–Csíkszereda.
The final competition was held on Wednesday evening, December 10, and the finals were broadcast on channel M2 and on the website https://mediaklikk.hu/m2 to be followed by interested parties; the competitors were greeted by Áron Kovács.
As stated, after three semi-finals, three plus one audience favorite teams advanced to the live final on Wednesday evening. The jury, chaired by Balázs Hankó, Minister for Culture and Innovation, first remembered the recently deceased actor Péter Balázs (a well-known Hungarian actor).
Adri Nagy, Péter Boronkai, and László Bölön, among others, gave speeches for the teams; in their words, “The homeland gives nothing less than faith itself.”
“A stable, good, and friendly team”—this is how the Debrecen competitors described themselves in their introductory short film. They, or more precisely Debrecen, were praised by the actors Judit Schell and Attila Fejszés.
Debrecen’s first production, although it was an engaging and informative summary of the youth events of the two cities in the past year, did not receive unanimous success among the jury.
Under the title “From the Heart”, the city’s youth programs were presented, highlighting the creation of the Kreatív Lab, the launch of the community page “Come On Udvarhely”, and the Made in Debrecen festival, which also featured a group from Székelyudvarhely.
The city knows exactly that the future belongs to the young; there are many applications and numerous opportunities to develop knowledge in the Agora.
Highlights included the “Move, Debrecen!” initiative, a cultural event in Székelyudvarhely, and the upcoming launch of the “From the Heart” podcast, as announced by the youth.
“The application is excellent; the guys are excellent,” summed up the judges, but for some reason, the production was not complete according to the jury’s evaluation. The productions of Gödöllő and Csíkszereda earned maximum points for the two cities. The judges found the movement-based production accompanied by violin music from Kecskemét and Marosvásárhely moving, which earned the competitors maximum points.
The fans were also scored, and in this category Debrecen and its partner city undoubtedly triumphed, with the enthusiasm of the more than 300‑strong camp earning maximum points.
In the second round, Debrecen and Székely-Udvarhely took to the stage with an impressive performance that combined folk and modern musical elements, with the musical contribution of Dánilefy and the dramaturgical contribution of Edit Bagossi, the artistic director of Ady Grammar School. The jury was also impressed by the production, and together with the public vote and the final musical and local knowledge quiz, the final order was determined.
The first place in the competition was Cegléd and Gyergyószentmiklós. Kecskemét and Marosvásárhely won the title of Youth Capital of Hungary 2027 with second place.
Debrecen and SzékelyUdvarhely, as well as Gödöllő and Csíkszereda, finished in a tie for third place.
The Debrecen and Székely-udvarhely teams were supported by Deputy Mayor István Puskás with his personal presence on site, and after the announcement of the results, he summed it up for dehir.hu:
“The competition forged the relationship between the teams of the two cities into a friendship, one of the upcoming stages of which will be the launch of the aforementioned joint podcast.”
“Debrecen has been a student city for almost half a millennium, where a student community not only from the Carpathian Basin but also from 140 countries around the world lives. In addition to the more than thirty thousand university students, the many thousands of students studying in sixty-seven primary and secondary schools ensure that Debrecen is a youthfully lively, bustling place,” the city hall’s previous announcement reads.
Source:dehir.hu | Photo credit: debrecen.hu
