Szabihíd is a non-profit cultural event, an occasion for the pedestrian use of the Liberty Bridge. Its aim is to bring people closer to urban spaces, to their city and to the river that runs through it, and uncover the opportunities lying in our public spaces.
The initiative was preceded by a spontaneous action in the summer of 2016, when the Liberty Bridge was closed for renovations. Starting in 2017, Valyo turned it into a creative community space for pedestrians and cyclists for 4 weekends and it became one of the most popular free leisure venues in Budapest.
Valyo is the temporary owner of the area, providing the venue and coordinating the programmes. Between 2017-19, the Municipality of Budapest supported the event with reduced public space fees, cleaning and public space surveillance. To ensure the quality of the event, donors were also involved and private donations were made by the users of the Liberty Bridge.
The theme of the Hungarian Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale was also inspired by the Szabihíd Project.
Due to the epidemic situation, the 2020 edition was postponed.
In 2021, the event could not take place in its usual form due to the closures in Budapest, so the Valyo team decided to invite people to the closed Pest quay to take advantage of the opportunities along the Danube. In line with the original, eponymous programme, the aim of the Szabihíd-OFF / Our Space is to show the people of Budapest and visitors how to make our public spaces more pleasant and lively. The only difference was that instead of the bridge and the Danube, the venue was one of Pest's renewed green public spaces.
