Gen Z from Budapest at the maxi-concert against Orban, waiting for the elections

Already at four o'clock in the afternoon, not even a pin could enter Heroes' Square in Budapest. Thousands of the city's young people flocked to the 'Concert to Dismantle the Regime': 50 performers and seven hours of music to propitiate the end of the government of the sovereign right-wing premier Viktor Orban. On Sunday 12 April, Hungary goes to the polls and it will be the first real chance in 16 years to say no more to the illiberal regime that is friendly to Putin's Russia, Trump's America but certainly not to Hungary's Generation Z. This time a challenger with the credentials to win is there, his name is Peter Magyar, and he leads a movement - Tisza - that looks very much like the Five Stars of the first hour and has been leading the polls for weeks.

The big concert, reminiscent in some ways of the May Day concert in Rome, was not, however, organised by Tisza. It was promoted by the Civil Resistance movement, which asked everyone to take to the square without party flags but, in fact, pulls the Magyar wave. From Heroes' Square, the crowd expands towards Andrassy Avenue, which, however long it is, still cannot contain everyone. Some only see the big screens from a distance. But everyone is listening, dancing, singing. The vast majority are in their twenties, but there are also a few families who have arrived with small children and pushchairs.

Eszter is 21 years old, like her two friends: 'We are here because we want a change'. She studies at university, but does not want to run away abroad as many of her friends are doing. "To stay here, though, I would like to be able to count on a health system that works, and social services for when I have children". The change Eszter is calling for, however, is not only economic, it is also social. "The government today does not respect our rights. For example, I would like to be free to demonstrate. The last time I took to the streets was when students and teachers together demanded more funds for school. The police responded with tear gas and batons, then the government told us not to do it anymore'. And the police, at the concert, aren't they scary? 'At demonstrations, usually, there is always a small group of infiltrators who provoke, and only when the scuffles begin inside the procession do the police intervene. Today we have to be careful and remain calm". Eszter will vote for Peter Magyar on Sunday. Like her friends. Like all the young people who have come for the concert. The music will go on into the night. Their hopes, however, will continue at dawn.