Ambassador Dorey was first received at the Town Hall by Mayor Zsolt Borkai MP, who is a former Olympic champion and now Chairman of the Hungarian Olympic Committee. The two exchanged thoughts on the region’s current economic climate and future plans. They also agreed to work closely together to promote the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Following the meeting with the mayor, the Ambassador consulted with Dr. Imre Szakács, head of the County Council. Dr Szakács, also an MP and a member of the Constitutional Committee, expressed his gratitude for the visit and briefed the Ambassador about the most recent developments concerning the drafting procedure of the new Hungarian constitution.

The Ambassador then visited the British owned Kisalföld’s editorial office. The newspaper, which has one of the widest circulations in the country, informed the Ambassador about their current state and their success in tackling the economic crisis. Journalists took the opportunity conduct an interview with the Ambassador, which featured on the front page the following day.

Győr is a well-known university town, where recently enormous developments have taken place to upgrade the quality of both the level of education and the institution’s campus. Rector Dr. Tamás Szekeres welcomed the visiting Ambassador and briefed him about the major construction and education projects as well as the impressive financial situation of the university.

Ambassador Dorey then attended the VIP reception of Rotary Club’s “Gift of Life” charity concert, to which the embassy also made a contribution, after which he, as the guest of honour, opened the event in Hungarian (see a link to his opening remarks below). The theme of the event was “tolerance without boundaries” and performers included both Hungarian and Slovak, Roma and non-Roma musicians.

The embassy’s ZARE (Music against Racism) movement was also represented at the event and performing artists also involved Roma musicians who played for His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales during his trip to Hungary earlier in the year. By offering certain contributions, as the embassy did, or by purchasing the ticket of the concert, people contributed to the fundraising for children’s heart transplant surgeries both within and outside of the country.

Greg Dorey's speech in Hungarian at the Gift of Life event."

Source: British Embassy Budapest