Puskás Arena in Budapest or How to live in “pre-Vovid” Hungary

The Czech Republic took on the Netherlands in the semi-finals in nearby Budapest, where thousands of Czech fans headed, as I did. How is life in Hungary, where it looks like before the covid?

The good news for all Czech fans was the opening of the Hungarian border, so drivers could pass through without any problems. In our hotel in the centre of Budapest, we were greeted by the same time as before the covid. No veils, no spacing, as if covid didn’t exist in Hungary.

Thousands of fans in the city, especially Dutch ones, as many Czechs arrived at the last minute. When you enter the fanzone, the security service will take your temperature and search you, you don’t have to undergo any other checks.

It was really lively in the fanzone before the stadium. Almost head to head, overwhelmingly orange. From 11:00 to 15:00, the Oranjes had their own DJ.

When the party was over, the Dutch got a flag as they left the fanzone and started to scrap in front of the Városliget city park where the fanzone is built. From there, the Oranjes then marched all the way to Puskás Arena.

Before entering the stadium, you have to go for a covid belt, which they give you if you show a negative PCR test and your ID. And from that point on, you’ll forget the covid exists again.

People began to pour into the 67,000-seat stadium, all of them without masks or even respirators, of course. “In Budapest only football, no covid, ” the taxi driver who took us to the stadium proudly told us.

Although there were announcements in the Puskás Arena before the game and at half-time about wearing balaclavas, nobody was too excited. The packed stadium greeted the Czech footballers with thunderous applause, and the national team had already aroused a great response during a tour of the stadium an hour and a half before the match. Even then, the Czech part of the stadium was already quite full.

The electrifying atmosphere drove the Czech national team to success, and in the end it was the Czech cauldron that scored both goals. The Czech fans were in total euphoria long after the match. In the tunnel at the exit of the stands, where the Czech cauldron was located, another wave of chanting started, which lasted until almost 9 o’clock.

Source: UEFA EURO 2020