Swimsuit Required: The Year-End Outdoor Party In Budapest’s Szechenyi Baths Rolls Tonight - Forbes

It's currently a bracing 39 degrees Fahrenheit in Budapest, and crystal clear, but never mind! Grab your bathing suit and drop on over to the Szechenyi, where Europe's largest and arguably finest thermal bath hosts its annual year's end dance party, staged by the veteran producer Laszlo Laki. And don't fret the "air temperature," as the Budapesters routinely scoff at it: The water in the outdoor pools at the Szechenyi rocks steady at 81-100 F, depending upon which pool you plunk down in. Kick back with a drink, or frug the night away, but in any case, relax! The air temperature is not a bother.

Here's how it happened and why you should, if you're within shouting distance of Budapest, go: Laki, Budapest's bath-party czar, had been busily running his firm of light-show creatives, Cinetrip, producing concerts and other events in the early Nineties, when he managed to persuade the managers of a few of Budapest's more famous baths, the Rudas and the world-famous Szechenyi among them, to let him stage some night-time dance-a-thons in the baths themselves.

The Dirigible At Its Tech Check Before The Party: Just one of Laki's inventions, the Dirigible does ... [+] occasionally accompany you as you swim.

Photo courtesy of Cinetrip/Sparty

It had never been done. The rather conservative city-run baths, an age-old institution built atop and fed by the mountainous capital's 200-odd thermal springs, were at first reluctant. Under Laki's direction, rules were strict, security was tight but not intrusively so, and the evenings, known as 'spa-rties,' became ragingly popular among Budapesters, expats and tourists alike. As with the summertime ragers built around sets of globetrotting DJs on Ibiza, these days, people go to Budapest to book in and rock the night away in their skivvies at Laki's sparties.

A senior statesman of Europe's party-entrepeneur class, the man is good at producing them. He's been running them, for thousands of guests, since 1994.

A Classic "Mid-Sparty" Scene: The lights bathe the 120-year-old courtyard pool of the Szechenyi ... [+] Baths.

Photo credit: Cinetrip/Sparty

The parties run summer, fall, and winter, with the winter extravaganza at the Szechenyi, a few hours from kickoff at this writing, being the centerpiece in the Eastern European year's-end parties, traditionally held on the eve of New Year's eve, December 30. The 2023 edition of what's come to be known as the "Szeczka Sparty" rolls tonight. Tickets are, at this hour, only available at the door.

The extraordinary light shows and acrobatic performances are part of the deal. These are not just "any" acrobats — Laki has, also, founded what can only be described as an 'air-dance' troupe who perform in wind tunnels, to present the depth of the showmanship.