On 24th April, I was in Budapest, Hungary, for the official announcement that a huge worship gathering would take place at the brand new Ferenc Puskas Stadium, on Saturday 18th July 2020.
The event will be organised by the Ez Az A Nap (Hungarian for “This Is The Day”) team, which is headed up by my good friend Viktor László. Viktor has carried a vision for this since the time when he watched the video of our “Champion of the World” event held at London's Wembley Stadium in June 1997. In the final moments of the video, he saw the Hungarian flag being waved and it inspired him to see something like that, happen in Budapest.
I had received a letter from a couple of friends on the day of the Wembley event which encouraged me that worship gatherings would take place in other stadiums in Europe; one of which was Budapest.
I was introduced to Viktor in the spring of 1998 and we have remained good friends since then. On that first visit to Budapest, Viktor and myself, together with some of his team prayed at the old national stadium. This is the site on which the new stadium now stands.
Over these last 21 years, I have been a frequent visitor to Budapest, participating in various events. Viktor even hosted a special 60th Birthday Party for me there in 2015.
So, it is a privilege to be encouraging the team as they embark on this incredible journey over the next year to fill the Puskas Stadium with 70,000 worshippers from Hungary and the surrounding nations. I will be spending two weeks in November and one week in February, travelling throughout Hungary and other nations on their Roadshow.
The launch event on 24th April was attended by 450 delegates from Hungary, Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Holland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Ukraine and UK.
Delegates at the event
At the event, Viktor shared the vision for 2020 and the journey so far.
I was given an opportunity to add to the story and sing.
Other participants included some of the best known Hungarian musicians, who work closely with Ez Az A Nap.
László Prazsák
Csiszér László
Pintér Béla
A special cake in the shape of the new stadium had been baked for this launch event and each one of us ate a piece, as a symbolic act of committing to serve the vision for the event.
Viktor with the Stadium Cake
Balázs Fürjes, the government minister responsible for the new stadium spoke to the delegates and shared how as a Christian he was delighted that it would serve as a gathering place for the church.
Balázs Fürjes
At the conclusion of the event, we all had an opportunity to visit the new stadium, which will be finished and officially opened in November.
Please put the date in your diary and plan to join us in July 2020.
