It has been five years since the inauguration of one of the strongholds of European football, the renewed sanctuary of Hungarian football, and the defining event venue of domestic cultural life, the Puskás Aréna. 

The 67,215-seat stadium, which has won numerous architectural awards, was the venue for the European Championship in 2021, the Europa League final in 2023, and will host the Champions League final in 2026.

A key venue for sports, entertainment and official events

The Puskás Arena, known internationally for its fantastic atmosphere, is worthy of the traditions of Hungarian football and the name of Ferenc Puskás. 

In addition, the multifunctional facility regularly hosts domestic and international pop and rock concerts (Azahriah, Coldplay, Depeche Mode, Ed Sheeran, Guns N’ Roses, Halott Pénz, Rammstein, Red Hot Chili Peppers), and most recently, at the beginning of November, Hungary, as the rotating presidency of the European Union, welcomed the leaders of state and government arriving for the European Political Community meeting at the informal EU summit in Budapest.

The smooth running of large-scale events requires a massive amount of background and organisational work: maintenance, cleaning, and stadium sustainability. 

The Puskás Arena, like the facilities implemented in the world-class sports infrastructure development of the past decade and the Olympic centres and multifunctional halls serving competitive sports, is operated by the National Sports Agency (NSÜ).

B+N Referencia Zrt., which has fourteen thousand employees, works closely with the NSÜ to ensure the right conditions. In just a few days, after the EU summit, for the Hungary-Germany Nations League match, the B+N team transformed the Puskás Arena into a state suitable for football again.

Football or a concert – which is more challenging to manage?

“It takes a lot of teamwork to organise a match. Depending on the event, B+N participate with about 100-200 people. Our tasks include the technical operation of the building – for example, we check before events whether the toilets, elevators, and electronic equipment are working properly – but cleaning the stairwells, corridors, and the auditorium is also our job. 

Many people wouldn’t even think about it, but for a major match, we start work four or five days before the match, and it takes almost the same amount of time afterwards to restore the stadium to its original condition after the tens of thousands of people.

But I have to praise the Hungarian fans: we have much less work to do after a domestic match than when there are international matches. The atmosphere is always tense when fans from different countries and cultures gather, which often results in more trash and vandalism.”- Zoltán Éger, regional manager of B+N Referencia Zrt. Soft FM, told Nemzeti Sport.

However, according to the expert, the real challenge is not organising sports events but multi-day concerts.

“I would definitely say that the two hardest events of the recent period were the Azariah and Coldplay triple concerts. There was a huge buzz in those two weeks, and concertgoers can’t even imagine how many people worked so that they could have a great time,” – Éger reveals.

Photo: Csaba Dömötör

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