Hungarians pedal to power Budapest Christmas tree

STORY: Hungarians are pedalling hard to power this Christmas tree

Location: Budapest, Hungary

Budapest’s local mayor is applying sustainable technology

to celebrate the festive season while saving on surging energy costs

(Gergely Orsi, Mayor of Budapest’s 2nd district) "On the one hand, we keep people moving in this cold. On the other hand, we can demonstrate how much one needs to pedal to light up a six-meter high Christmas tree, not that much, but it is important for us to show an example that sustainability is the future."

The bicycle also charges a battery

that helps power the rest of the lights around the Budapest square

(Nora, Resident) "In the energy crisis one could not solve the decorations in a more effective way. It would have been very sad not to have them at all. Every year this square is decorated beautifully, we would have been sad if we did not have them this year but I think this is an excellent compromise."