The Danube Regatta

The Danube Regatta is Hungary's largest inter-university sports, music and cultural festival, which is built around international rowing and dragon boat races. The Regatta is organised since 2013 by the Antall József Knowledge Centre Besides the growing number of participating Hungarian universities, from year to year different foreign universities take part in the race to prove their strength in the spirit of sportsmanship. On the other hand, the Regatta is more than just a sport competition.

With the SPORT-TRADITION-EXPERIENCE triple word slogan the Regatta is intended to be a community-building event, which gives a chance to the Hungarian and foreign universities for competition and team building at the same time. In addition to the water races the Danube Regatta hosts also a musical talent competition called the Sound of the University, which provides a potential breakthrough opportunity to the university bands. This event held on the quay before the main building of the Technical University also intends to entertain the sport fans and the visitors with a wide variety of colourful and spectacular sport and cultural events.

The history of the Danube Regatta

The history of the Danube Regatta, organised by the Antall József Knowledge Centre, began in 2013. The idea behind the event comes from the Knowledge Centre's Director, Peter Antall, who formulated the circumstances surrounding the birth of the Danube Regatta as follows: "The Regatta was inspired by the Danube: the Knowledge Centre’s first office was established in 2010 at the Corvinus University which offered a superb view over the river. Then it came to my mind that the river not only separates the universities which are constantly facing each other on the two banks of Danube, but it can also link them. We wanted to combine this idea with the creation of a new tradition, the promotion of sports for the youth and with the raising of awareness to the diverse use of the Danube. Thus, the Danube Regatta was born and quickly became a traditional event that has grown into the sports festival of the year.”

The objectives of the Danube Regatta

The Danube Regatta’s important goal is to strengthen the togetherness of the universities, to build a positive country image, to emphasize the diverse use of the Danube and raise the awareness about the importance of sport and outdoor life.

Competitors

The Danube Regatta provides an opportunity for pro rowing and amateur dragon boat university teams to race on one of the most spectacular stretches of the Danube, from the Parliament to the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. Rowing eights will be made up of professionals, while the dragon boats will feature students seeking brand new adventures who will be forged into teams during practice sessions leading up to the big race. To help their preparation they have the opportunity to train for a several weeks before the competitions. The building of a positive country image is also very important for the Regatta. In addition to the Hungarian universities, renown foreign universities also take part in the event year after year.

Quayside programs

During the Danube Regatta in 2016, in addition to beach volleyball competitions, students could face off against each other in streetball and korfball matches. Traditionally, the side events of the Danube Regatta are held at the lower and upper quays in front of the buildings of the Technical University. On the day of the Regatta the quay becomes a festival venue, visitors can enjoy many exciting sports and cultural programs and live music events in the evening. The Danube Regatta’s official moderator is Gábor Gundel Takács. The spectacular and unique sporting events are an important part of the festival that stretches through the whole day. Each year, several team sport championships are waiting for the visitors, while they also have the opportunity to try out lesser-known sports or watch the presentation of extreme sports. The lower quay is reserved for those visitors who want to watch the races from up close and cheer on their favourite teams. During the races cheerleader and cheer dancer groups and university teams fill this part of the river embankment, while in the evening the area transforms into a terrace where everyone can refresh themselves with various drinks. A variety of activities, roundtable discussions and games organised by the Danube Regatta’s partners await those who are looking for different activities. From the early evening events also start on the two stages of the Regatta: traditionally, the winners of Sound of the University music competition preform first only to be followed by concerts of well-known foreign and Hungarian bands.

Sound of the University

The Sound of the University musical talent competition was the innovation of the Danube Regatta in 2014. From year to year the organizers are looking for university bands with young, creative and unique sounds who are not only in tune with the “Regatta-feeling”, but also can pass it on to the audience. In this multi-round competition, the audience chooses – with the help of online voting – its own favourite band which will advance, together with four best bands selected by the jury into the final round of the competition. The ultimate winner is selected by the jury. The best band than has the opportunity to perform on the main stage of the Danube Regatta. The first Sound of the University contest was won by Magidom while in 2015 and 2016 Twentees and METEO were the winners. In the first three years, the final round of the Sound of the University took place on the Regatta’s main stage but in 2016 it was not held on the day of the event, but a week before, on 29th April, Friday and served as a Warm Up party for the Regatta.

Danube Regatta from year to year

2013

The tradition of the Danube Regatta international rowing and dragon boat competition among universities began in 2013. During the first Regatta on 9th May the universities of cities lying on the bank of the Danube had the main role: 6 Hungarian and two foreign universities competed with each other in rowing and dragon boat races. In the first year the two invited foreign university teams arrived from Vienna and Linz. The first Regatta’s main aim was to strengthen the togetherness of the universities. Participating universities Corvinus University of Budapest University of Technology and Economics of Budapest Eötvös Loránd University Semmelweis University Széchenyi István University, Győr University of Szeged Johannes Kepler University, Linz Universität Wien The 2013 winner of the Danube Regatta professional rowing race was the Széchenyi István University.

2014

With the addition of family programs the Danube Regatta took the form of a spring festival on the 1st of May 2014. 8 Hungarian and 3 foreign teams took part in the rowing and dragon boat races, thereby making it possible for university teams from all four Visegrad Countries to celebrate together the accession of the V4 group to the European Union. Altogether 350 students from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia measured their athletic and musical skills in traditional eights, dragon boat races and in musical competitions on the Danube and at its shores. In addition to the spectacular water sport events a variety of programs also awaited the fans and viewers throughout the day: the universities cheerleader teams preformed dance shows, while different family-friendly activities awaited those interested on the MEEX stage. The nearly 13 thousand people attending the Regatta had the chance to try the special, blue “Danube Regatta” ice-cream made just for this occasion, or could participate in the UN’s My World campaign in order to do something for a more livable future, while the Budapest public transport company BKV provided a special boat for those who wanted to support their team from up close on the Danube. The Sound of the University, the Regatta’s own music talent show also made its debut this year. The event was hosted by Flour Tomi and Gundel Takács Gábor, while in the evening visitors could watch the performance of the Hungarian bands The Biebers and Cloud9+. The patrons of the 2014 Danube Regatta were Anna Komorowska, the spouse of the Republic of Poland’s president and Herczegh Anita, the spouse of the Hungary’s president.

Participating universities

Corvinus University of Budapest University of Technology and Economics of Budapest Eötvös Loránd University University of Civil Service Semmelweis University University of Pécs Széchenyi István University, Győr University of Szeged University teams from the V4 countries: Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia The 2014 winner of the amateur dragon boat race of the Danube Regatta was the University of Szeged while the race of the professional rowing eights was won by the Széchenyi István University.

2015

In 2015 the Regatta specifically addressed university students and the event held on the 25th of April was the inter-university sports festival of the year. Although, the event was held for the first time only a couple of years ago, judging from the number of those interested and from the positive climate at the bank of the Danube we can already see its success: the Danube Regatta truly became a tradition. During the 2015 Regatta non-other than teams of the renown American Princeton and Harvard universities launched their eights on the Danube to compete against the Hungarian university teams. This year already 12 Hungarian teams participated in the eights and dragon boat races, while more than 20 thousand people cheered them on from the bank of the Danube. During the day the music from the final of the Sound of the University filled the Danube embankment, which was followed by the spectacular performance of the cheerleader teams, while the Japanese drum players inspired the crowd with their sonorous show. The lower embankment of the Danube was filled with the fans of the university teams, whereas the special sporting and party programs such as the monocycle, trial bike and parkour performances, or the slackline, streetball and beer pong championships where held on the upper embankment. In the evening Intim Torna Illegál and Senna took center stage and entertained the crowds, only to be followed by Drop the Cheese and Dj White Boy. The event this year was once again hosted by Gundel Takács Gábor. The patron of the 2015 Danube Regatta was Colleen Bell, ambassador of the United States of America to Hungary.

Participating universities

Andrássy Gyula University Corvinus University of Budapest Budapest Business School University of Technology and Economics of Budapest Eötvös Loránd University University of Civil Service Semmelweis University Pázmány Péter Catholic University University of Pécs Széchenyi István University, Győr University of Szeged University of Physical Education Harvard University Princeton University

In 2015 the Danube Regatta’s amateur dragon boat final was won by the Széchenyi István University with the Budapest University of Technology and Economics finishing in second place. The University of Physical Education earned the third place. The winner of the professional rowing final was won by Harvard University. The Széchenyi István University and Princeton University came in second and third.

2016

During the year’s best sports festival on the 7th of May 2016 more then 15 thousand people turned out to the embankment of the Danube to enjoy a sunny spring day with sporadic showers and beautiful rainbows. This year already 15 Hungarian teams participated in the loud, colorful and spectacular dragon boat races, while the professional athletes of the eights had the chance to compete against the best in the world as the rival foreign teams came from Oxford and Cambridge universities. During the opening ceremony the British teams were greeted by the patron of the 2016 Danube Regatta, Iain Lindsay, ambassador of the United Kingdom to Hungary. In addition to the races the visitors of the Regatta could participate this year in beach volleyball, street ball and teqball championships, while the fans of pub sports could try out their skills in beer pong matches, in the same time extreme sport’s best were represented by the Lords of Gravity show team. The Sound of the University music talent contest’s final was held one week before the Regatta, as part of the Warm Up party. The winning band Meteo had the chance to perform on the main stage of the Regatta as well, as the opening act before the bands Magashegyi Underground and Kelemen Kabátban. Participating universities Andrássy Gyula University Corvinus University of Budapest Budapest University of Economics University of Technology and Economics of Budapest Central European University University of Debrecen Eötvös Loránd University University of Civil Service Óbuda University Pázmány Péter Catholic University University of Pécs Semmelweis University Széchenyi István University, Győr University of Szeged University of Physical Education Oxford University Cambridge University In addition to the British teams the Széchenyi István University from Győr and the Corvinus University of Budapest advanced to the final of the eights. To the huge surprise of the onlookers the race was won by the superb team from Győr, who were closely followed by the rowers from Cambridge. Corvinus University of Budapest came in third snapping up the bronze medal ahead of the renown Oxford eights unit. The students from Győr however, could not do the double, as last year’s champion’s dragon boat came in only second behind the boat manned by the team from University of Psychical Education. Third place went out to the university with the most enthusiastic fans – the University of Pécs – whose team won a medal for the first time since the creation of the Regatta.