Best of Budapest & Hungary

Metallica came, saw, and broke records: the Budapest No Repeat Weekend set a new record for the highest-attended stadium concert in Hungary, while also breaking the attendance record of Puskás Aréna. Thanks to the special in-the-round stage setup, more than 75,000 people attended each night, meaning that over 150,000 fans experienced the metal legends’ performances across the two evenings. But this was not the only record Metallica broke over the weekend: nearly 2,000 people answered the band’s call to donate blood over the two days, making it the largest blood donation event ever held in Hungary.

    Metallica’s No Repeat Weekend has come to an end, with the band taking over Puskás Aréna for two nights featuring two different setlists and different support acts. The M72 World Tour, which has been running for four years, has already broken several records at previous stops, and after Berlin, Chorzów and Athens, Budapest also shattered the attendance record: never before had so many people been present inside Puskás Aréna at the same time. Metallica did not only set a new attendance record for the stadium, but also for Hungary, where no stadium concert had ever drawn such a large crowd on a single night.

    Metallica, however, did not only take over Puskás Aréna - for the weekend, they took over almost the entire city of Budapest. Fans arrived from nearly 70 countries, and they had plenty to enjoy even on the day between the June 11 and June 13 concerts. The Metallica Film Fest played to sold out, fans waited patiently for hours to get into the Metallica Pop-Up Store at Allee, and Kirk Hammett’s book and guitar presentation was also sold out at the House of Music Hungary. At the end of the presentation, Robert Trujillo also appeared as a surprise guest for a short jam session. Fans could close the evening at the …And Tributes For All! tribute festival at Barba Negra, or at the metal party hosted by Akvárium Klub.

    At every stop of their tour, Metallica make it a priority to give back to local communities. In Budapest, in addition to organizing the blood drive, they also supported the work of Budapest Bike Maffia and NANE with dedicated donations. During the blood donation campaign, members of the Metallica family proved that their hearts are in the right place: nearly 2,000 people rolled up their sleeves to help over the two days, making it Hungary’s largest blood donation event to date. What is more, 25% of donors gave blood for the first time - and we hope this experience will give them enough motivation to return in the future.