04.11.2024
10 min
936
We are talking about a neo-Nazi concert planned in Budapest, organized by the Hungarian branch of the international network Blood & Honour. Readers will learn about the details of the event, its participants, financial aspects and the likely impact on the spread of extremist ideology. The issue of the connection of such events with the financing of terrorist groups is separately considered, as well as the reaction of Hungarian law enforcement agencies and society.
Far-right concerts are not only musical events, but also a significant source of funding. Researchers at the International Center for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) in the Netherlands note that such events generate revenue through ticket sales and symbols, which are in demand among supporters of radical ideas. A separate place is occupied by the sale of far-right merchandise, which often contains Nazi symbols.
The cost of participation in the concert, scheduled for February 2025, is indicated on the Blood & Honour website as a “support fee for both days” of 30 euros. The wording does not give a clear answer whether this is a payment for the entire event or for each day separately. The organizers accept only cash payments, and the venue is described as “a private area somewhere in Hungary.”
In 2024, a similar two-day concert by Blood & Honour cost 45 euros. In addition to tickets, souvenirs were offered, including goods from the so-called “support shop” of the Hungarian branch of the organization. All products were sold exclusively at the event and included products with explicit Nazi symbols, including T-shirts with the image of a Totenkopf over a swastika and the inscription “White Power”.
Similar events have occurred in the past. In October 2024, another two-day neo-Nazi concert was held in a public hall in the village of Çemer near Budapest. The ticket price was 100 euros, and about 300 tickets were sold in total, bringing in tens of thousands of euros in profit for the organizers. According to Hungarian media, the premises were rented under false pretenses, supposedly for a birthday party with foreign guests. The event was timed to coincide with the tenth anniversary of a far-right fashion brand owned by French neo-Nazi and Blood & Honour representative Tomasz Szkatulsky.
After the concert, the venue was identified by local activists. Thanks to a video posted on Shkatulsky’s Telegram channel and its comparison with images of the public hall, it was possible to accurately establish the geolocation of the event.
Tomasz Szkatulski was banned from entering Germany and Bulgaria in 2023 after an investigation into his participation in the far-right event “Night of International Struggle” planned for Budapest in May of that year. He acted as a co-organizer and participant of the event.
In December 2024, another neo-Nazi concert was held near Budapest, organized by a Budapest “cultural association” and a music label affiliated with Blood & Honour. According to Hungarian media reports, the event featured international bands with openly anti-Semitic lyrics. Among the participants was a Greek band that openly calls for violence against Jews in its songs.
The organizers of the upcoming 2025 concert decided not to disclose all the names of the bands that will participate, explaining this by the desire to “ensure the arrival of the invited groups.” At the same time, among the bands that have already publicly announced their participation are neo-Nazi musical groups from Sweden, Spain, Poland, and Hungary.
Blood & Honour and Combat 18 have close ties to other far-right groups in Hungary, most notably Legio Hungaria. This organization was the main organizer of several events dedicated to the so-called “Day of Honour” in Budapest, and also has ties to the international Active Club movement.
In 2023, Legio Hungaria leader Béla Ince openly admitted that his organization maintains a “strong relationship” with Combat 18. This was stated in an interview with American white nationalist Greg Johnson, who, according to some reports, moved to Budapest in 2019 after being deported from Norway.
Béla Ince is a veteran of the far-right movement in Hungary. In a 2010 interview with Hungarian journalists, he stated that he was not anti-Semite, but advocated for a world “without Jews.” In 2012, he was arrested for his involvement in vandalism of a Holocaust memorial, where he left anti-Semitic slogans, including “Not your country, you dirty Jews!”
Legio Hungaria maintains contacts with other far-right groups, such as Hammerskins, an international neo-Nazi network banned in Germany in 2023, and Betyársereg (“Army of Robbers”), led by a former Blood & Honour member. The latter spent almost two years in prison for attacking a member of the Roma community.
In 2022, Legio Hungaria announced on its Telegram channel a joint event with the Hungarian branch of Combat 18, dedicated to a former member of the Waffen-SS. The post praised the Nazi veteran for “remaining faithful” to the ideals of the SS.
The group has also been active in propaganda activities. In 2020, Legio Hungaria joined a concert dedicated to Ian Stuart Donaldson, the founder of Blood & Honour. During the event, they organized their own recruitment station, distributed propaganda materials, and sold merchandise with far-right symbols.
Neither Blood & Honour nor Legio Hungaria have provided official comments on the situation. Legio Hungaria leader Béla Ince responded to inquiries on his personal Telegram channel.
In his posts, he stated that neither he nor other Legio Hungaria leaders were going to respond to such inquiries. He also emphasized that the Hungarian branches of Blood & Honour and Combat 18 are affiliated groups that have organized both public and private events for many years. According to him, if their activities were related to terrorism or its financing, they would have long been the subject of investigations by law enforcement agencies.
