Amazing Remastered High Definition Footage of Fans Celebrating the Arrival of Queen in Budapest in 1986

In 1986, the members of Queen went to Budapest as part of the band’s final tour with the late great Freddie Mercury as lead singer. The band was given a royal welcome by awaiting fans and dignitaries as they arrived into the city by boat.

Because Hungary was part of the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War, the sight of American or British rock stars was extremely rare. In fact, Queen was the only band to perform in Hungary before the fall of the Soviet Union, so their the presence and highly attended concert was a real treat for all involved. This amazing footage was captured and remastered in high definition for the documentary Hungarian Rhapsody.

On July 27, 1986, Queen performed the largest-ever stadium concert at the Népstadion in Budapest in front of 80,000 ecstatic fans. …With three years to go before the fall of the Berlin Wall, this was the first Western rock concert performed in a stadium behind the then Iron Curtain. It was of such significance to the Hungarian authorities and film industry that a group of the country’s top film cameramen and technicians were brought together to film it for posterity.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.