McDonald's celebrates 20 years in Hungary

BUDAPEST (AFP) — Queues as long as 150 metres (490 feet) formed in front of a McDonald's restaurant in downtown Budapest Tuesday as hundreds of people lined up to celebrate the US fast food giant's 20th anniversary in Hungary.

The oldest McDonald's in town, and the first to open in Hungary 20 years ago, was offering a Big Mac for the same price as it cost then -- just 43 forint (0.17 euros, 0.27 dollars). Nowadays, with a total 94 restaurants throughout Hungary, a burger costs 15 times as much, or 650 forint.

Among the hundreds waiting for up to 45 minutes, 63-year-old Sandor Demeter said: "I come here twice a year. I can't afford to more often."

He claimed to have been a Big Mac fan ever since the chain opened its first Hungarian restaurant.

The head of McDonald's Hungary, Czech-born Radek Janalik, said he had not expected so many people.

The offer would run for only two hours, during which the company expected to sell 10 times more burgers than on a normal day, Janalik said.

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