Budapest Remembers It’s Black Son, Michael Jackson

The Goulash capital, commonly referred to as the ‘Paris of the East’ commemorated the 1st anniversary of the death of the king of pop, Michael Jackson. Fans have dubbed Michael, “Budapest’s black son,” as he was instantly adopted by the Hungarian capital during his filming of the album History in 1994. The game black jack in Hungary has also been referred to as playing “Michael.”

The long filming process saw Jackson clad in designer surreal Hungarian Hussar military gear as he led the extras on to victory along Dozsa Gyorgy road, where once the military and heads of state waved to marching parades of workers during communism. The Budapest Sun English-language newspaper, located in the former construction workers’ headquarter (now the refurbished  ING Bank headquarters) across the road from the Jackson gig, covered the events on a daily basis.

Millions of mourning Hungarians of the Michael Jackson Club in Budapest are staging a major commemoration event of the pop star who would have turned 51 this year. The film version of the London-based “This is it” concert that Jackson never completed is also being screened.

In his video for the History album Jackson portrays himself to have liberated Hungary and all of Eastern Europe from communism. The Heroes square, arguably Hungary’s most prominent landmark was used in the video and amplified to four times its original size, using special effects where a colossal statue of Michael was erected and helicopters patrolled over and under the idol of the American who stole the hearts of millions of Hungarians, old and young. Michael Jackson’s commemorations diminished the events of 2010 FIFA Football World Cup for at least June 25, 2010, in the international media.