Budapest Zoo’s Biodome Planned to Be Open Permanently

The Biodome’s most recent exhibition on the age of dinosaurs

The Biodome (Biodóm) is scheduled to open permanently by the end of the year as an integral part of the Budapest Zoo, the director of the Zoo’s Conservation and Animal Health Department announced on Wednesday.

Endre Sós said at a press briefing that they want to create an urban oasis with plants and animals. “The 20 billion forints (49.8 million euros) previously planned for the opening of the Biodome are not available now, but we can open it with about 350 million (872,000 euros),” Sós said.

He pointed out that the Biodome opened to the public last year, after years of uncertainty and disputes between the capital and the government, and that it has attracted around 100,000 visitors to some of its events. These included the two Lightdome evens and the World Press Photo exhibition. This year, he said, the recently closed paleontology exhibition attracted over 46,000 visitors in a month and a half.

World Press Photo exhibition at the Biodome in September 2024. Photo: MTI/Szigetváry Zsolt

We do not see the reality that the project could be completed within a year or two as originally planned. However, we think the Biodome is ready to be opened to the public on a permanent basis,”

the director stressed.

Anikó Királyné Tamás, the Zoo’s economic director, said that last year the Biodome’s expenses amounted to 1.15 billion forints (2.9 million euros), while revenues reached 710 million forints (1.8 million euros).

The Biodome’s most recent exhibition on the age of dinosaurs was open until the end of March. Photo: MTI/Bodnár Boglárka

Sós noted that the original plan was to exhibit large animals, rhinos, elephants, and chimpanzees, but the structures and resources are not yet available. He said that

the former concept of Biodome as “Miocene Hungary” would be also transformed, and instead of the pre-human tropical period, visitors would be shown a world in which man and nature can coexist.

In response to a question about the foot-and-mouth disease, the director said that the Budapest Zoo is fortunately not affected by the disease, but the petting zoo is closed and contact with the animals and feeding is prohibited.

Horses in the Biodome paddock, opened in the summer of 2024. Photo: MTI/Kocsis Zoltán

At the press briefing, the Biodome’s new exhibition “Art Aqua” was announced. With stunning aquariums and water-inspired artworks, the exhibition invites visitors on a unique journey into the world of nature, reads the zoo’s Facebook post. It will open on April 10, and will be on display until May 25.

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