Guest blog by Police Sergeant Natalie RANAHAN and Police Constable Steve WARDLE, British Bobbies visiting the Sziget Festival, organised by the Hungarian Police and the British Embassy.
As police officers, both of us have a number of years experience within the Operations Department and in particular Support Group. This involves a variety of duties including the policing of large scale festivals in England.
In July of 2014, we were kindly invited by The British Embassy in Budapest to attend the SZIGET music festival in August – an experience not to be missed – we thought. We were soon packing clothes, sorting travel arrangements and more importantly sourcing gifts for our hosts ( In particular a Police Hat for Levi !!)
Intrepid travellers, we left England during another wet day and were soon being greeted at Budapest airport by the Fantastic guide/interpreter, Agnes. We were soon to experience the next Formula 1 test driver in the form of Zoltan, who transported us to our hotel for the stay. An Experience never to be forgotten.
After resting our weary heads, we were introduced to the Chief of police, a lovely man, and two of their Gendarmerie colleagues from France. Introductions made, we made our way to the festival and were immediately struck by the similarities to our own Glastonbury Music festival.
Smiles, laughter and shouts of `BOBBY BOBBY` greeted us wherever we went around the festival area. A testament to the excellent `Spot The Bobby` campaign implemented by the British Embassy, which required youngsters to take a selfie with us, and post it to social media. The campaign aimed to raise awareness of partying responsibly through two main messages: “Party Responsibly, Watch your drink” and “A new passport costs £95 = 64 beers” – very cleverly warning festival-goers to watch their belongings and their own selves during the heat of the party. Of course, the overall aim of the campaign was to join forces and assist the Consular section’s work in reducing consular cases.
A more `Relaxed and Laid back approach` is the way we described the atmosphere with people having fun and interacting with us. Feeling like Posh and Becks, we were photographed and interviewed wherever we went receiving positive feedback from all who encountered us.
“WE ARE NOT IN FANCY DRESS” – we had to keep telling people. Dressed in our spotless white shirts, ties and traditional police helmets, it was an image most people had only seen on the TV. This jovial interaction was one of the qualities that made us approachable whilst being professional, friendly and interested throughout our time in Budapest.
We dealt with a number of incidents during our time at the festival, including stolen/lost property (Our helmets on more than one occasion), missing children, pickpockets and of course the universally recognised question of “WHERE ARE THE NEAREST TOILETS PLEASE?”
Interviews with press and TV were not something we had planned for but were very much up for the challenge, right up to the point where the professional Theresa BUBBEAR, Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy, showed us exactly how it should be done. English and Hungarian she spoke. We could only watch in awe at the faultless delivery she gave. WOW!! “WHAT A LOVELY APPROACHABLE AND FRIENDLY LADY “we both thought.
Aside from the Fantastic festival, we also had time to experience the architecture and history of Budapest. The spectacular Parliament building, the imposing Great Synagogue and the fairy-tale-like Fisherman’s Bastion were the main points of interest we enjoyed. Sore feet were a common experience, showing just how much Budapest has to offer sightseers to this fantastic city.
“FANTASTIC, INSIGHTFUL, WELCOMING, FRIENDLY AND A PLACE WE WILL DEFINITELY BE VISITING AGAIN” was how we would describe our visit to Budapest.
“WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE INVOLVED WITH OUR VISIT. THE PEOPLE OF BUDAPEST, LEVI AND HIS STAFF, THERESA BUBBEAR,THE CHIEF OF POLICE, AGNES AND OUR DRIVER ZOLTAN. WE HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL AGAIN SOON AND WISH YOU ALL THE VERY BEST FOR THE FUTURE.”
Kind regards
Natalie RANAHAN
Steve WARDLE
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the British government.