On 25 May, the Madame Tussauds exhibition with 51 lifelike Hungarian and foreign wax figures will open at Palazzo Dorottya in the centre of Budapest.
Chris Scurrah, representative of franchise owner Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd., at the press premiere of the 250-year-old tourism global brand, recalled that Merlin is one of the world’s largest providers, welcoming 67 million visitors annually with attractions such as Legoland, the London Eye, Sea Life, and Madame Tussauds wax museum. As emphasised, Madame Tussauds Budapest is the first individually developed and newly built franchise with local partners.
Paul Fox, the United Kingdom’s ambassador to Budapest, expressed that it is not only the expansion of the world-renowned exhibition that is celebrated, but also Budapest’s rich cultural heritage and vibrant spirit. The ambassador highlighted that a great British brand is making its mark in Hungary, and currently, this is the only Madame Tussauds wax museum in Central Europe.
Quoting Pablo Picasso, József Kreinbacher, the owner of Madame Tussauds Budapest, said: ‘Everything you can imagine is real, and everything that human imagination can conceive can be achieved.’
Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony stated that Madame Tussauds wax museum is a gift to the 150-year-old Budapest, where the wax figures provide a sense of familiarity, as if we share a common story with the celebrities displayed here. He said that this exhibition includes figures from the present, the past, and even the distant past, which is a bit like the entire city itself.
According to the organisers’ statement, the 24th Madame Tussauds production in the world brings 51 lifelike figures and their corresponding installations to the audience. The attraction features 17 Hungarian celebrities created exclusively for the Budapest production in Madame Tussauds’ workshop near London. During the design phase, the public was asked which personalities they were most interested in.
Inside the exhibition, numerous iconic Hungarian buildings and landmarks are represented. Visitors can walk through the Buda Castle Tunnel, meet celebrities on the Danube Promenade, become actors in a helicopter movie scene at the Fisherman’s Bastion, and immerse themselves in the unique world of thermal baths.
The Budapest Madame Tussauds exhibition showcases both Hungarian and foreign personalities, including Harry Houdini, Katinka Hosszú, iconic interwar actress and singer Katalin Karády, Lajos Kossuth, Franz Liszt, Béla Lugosi, King Matthias Corvinus, 19th century painter Mihály Munkácsy, John von Neumann, Barbara Palvin, legendary boxing champion László Papp, Sándor Petőfi, Ferenc Puskás, Empress Sissi, King Stephen I and István Széchenyi. Aditionally, wax figures of Pope Francis, the late Queen Elizabeth II, Beyoncé, Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Xi Jinping, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr., Lady Gaga, Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, Steven Spielberg, and Donald Trump can be seen. The lifelike sculptures of Bud Spencer, Chuck Norris, and Peter Falk are exclusively on display in Budapest, available for the general public to admire.
