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QUEEN’s Budapest Concert Celebrates 40th Anniversary With Newly Restored 4K Release
Sony Music Vision has announced "Queen Budapest", a newly restored 4K cinema release marking the 40th anniversary of Queen's historic 1986 concert in Hungary, the first Western stadium rock show performed behind the Iron Curtain. The film, which captures the band's final filmed live performance with Freddie Mercury, will screen in cinemas and IMAX worldwide from 7 October through Trafalgar Releasing, restored from original 35mm footage by Sir Peter Jackson's Park Road Post Production in New Zealand with newly remixed audio.
The concert took place on 27 July 1986 at Budapest's Népstadion during Queen's Magic Tour, selling out 80,000 tickets with an estimated further 45,000 fans listening outside, some having travelled from as far as Russia and Poland. Filmed on 35mm by 17 Hungarian cameramen using all the film stock available in the country, the show was later broadcast across the Communist Bloc and in Hungarian cinemas, marking several firsts for a Western rock act. Queen played only five further shows before Mercury's death curtailed touring, with their last performance held at Knebworth Park in August 1986; band members Brian May and Roger Taylor have spoken of the concert's deep emotional significance, including their performance of a Hungarian folk song.
In short
- Queen's restored 1986 Budapest concert film "Queen Budapest" hits cinemas 7 October.
- Marks 40th anniversary of first Western rock show behind the Iron Curtain.
- It's the last filmed Queen performance with Freddie Mercury.
Explained simply
Queen performed at Budapest's Népstadion in July 1986 as the first major Western rock act to stage a stadium concert behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. The show sold out 80,000 tickets and drew an estimated further 45,000 listeners outside the stadium, many having travelled from across Eastern Europe where opportunities to see Western musicians were rare.
This concert holds particular significance as the last filmed live performance of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury. After Budapest, the band played only five additional shows before Mercury's death curtailed further touring, with their final concert at Knebworth Park in August 1986. The event has taken on profound emotional meaning for surviving band members.
A restored 4K version of the concert film has now been prepared for cinema release, featuring newly remixed audio. The release marks the 40th anniversary of the historic 1986 performance.