Tickets for the 2023 Budapest Burns Supper are now on sale. The biggest and longest-running Scottish – Hungarian charity event on the social calendar, the Burns Supper organised by the Robert Burns International Foundation (RBIF) will be held for the 26th time on 28 January 2023 at the Corinthia Hotel Budapest.
An evening of traditional Scottish culture, including a 5-course dinner with wines, the famous Burns Whisky and Gin bar, and a pipe band flown in all the way from Scotland, it’s a night you won’t want to miss.
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Seven projects in five different towns
A charity run and staffed solely by volunteers, the RBIF fundraises every year to support projects helping sick and underprivileged children throughout Hungary. In 2022 the foundation supported seven projects in five different towns and cities, including Budapest, Mezőtúr, Veszprém, Hódmezővásárhely and Zalaegerszeg, funding medical equipment for paediatric healthcare worth over 11.5 million forints.
The target at the Scottish – Hungarian charity event, the 2023 Burns Supper is to beat that fundraising result, and this will be the task of the more than 300 guests expected at the Corinthia Hotel, who can contribute just by attending, but also by buying raffle tickets and taking part in the auction.
Support the longest running Scottish – Hungarian charity event
The RBIF enjoys support from both Hungarian and multinational companies, and also from diplomatic circles. The foundation is run by the Foundation Board, comprising Hungarian and international members of the business community, which includes the Deputy Ambassador at the British Embassy. There is also a 5-member Supervisory Board keeping tabs on the work performed by the RBIF during the year.
The work of the RBIF covers many projects, and the video below highlights a large-scale fundraising appeal launched in 2013.
Running such an organisation is not an easy task, but the RBIF is helped by further sponsors who give of their time, such as Moore Hungary, who handle the accounts for the foundation, as well as KPMG Hungary, who for many years have been the auditor of the RBIF. Strictly speaking the RBIF does not have to be audited, as it falls under the set thresholds, but transparency is extremely important for the RBIF, so they voluntarily undergo an annual audit by one of the Big4 accounting firms, so that everyone can see for themselves just how every penny raised is spent.
Setting a good example
The companies that attend the event and support with their sponsorship range in size, from large multinationals like Tesco and AstraZeneca to small and medium-sized companies based in Hungary, such as Taxually, FirstMed Centers and Inter Relocation. This is because there are sponsorship packages designed to suit any budget, so it’s very easy for businesses to get involved with their CSR programmes.
There are still opportunities to take part in the 2023 Burns Supper as a corporate sponsor, and so interested parties should contact the RBIF directly.
The history behind
A Burns Supper is a celebration of the life and works of the poet Robert Burns, and these suppers are normally held on or around the poet’s birthday, 25 January.
While extremely common in Scotland, Burns Suppers are held throughout the world by groups of Scots, giving anyone the chance to celebrate Scotland’s favourite “bard”.
The first suppers were held in Ayrshire at the end of the 18th century by Robert Burns’ friends on the anniversary of his death, 21 July, and they have been a regular occurrence ever since. The first Burns club was founded in Greenock in 1801 by merchants born in Ayrshire, some of whom had known Burns.
They held the first Burns Supper on what they thought was his birthday on 29 January 1802, but in 1803 discovered that the correct date was in fact 25 January 1759, and since then suppers have been held on 25 January, Burns’ birthday.