27. April 2005.

A "Festival of Poetry" was organized by Hungarian Radio and the Petőfi Theatre of Veszprém on 14 April to commemorate the centenary of the birth of Attila József.

The Herend Porcelain Manufactory was among the first to show its willingness to undertake sponsorship of this prestigious event.
The Manufactory was represented at the highest level by Managing Director Sándor Polányi.

Altogether 258 contestants entered for the poetry recital competition. Of them 195 came from Hungary and 63 from beyond the borders.

In the last round of the competition only poems by Attila József were recited, and, unlike in earlier rounds, this time the contestants did not appear on stage in alphabetical order. The poem By the Danube was recited twice, together with Consciousness, Elegy, Air and Socialists. The poems were recited in a stage setting recalling the poet's study-cum-sitting room.

The panel of judges consisted of prominent public figures from the world of literature and the media.
First Prize went to free-lance actor Attila Héresz Menszátor, who received the check for 2 million HUF and the Herend Porcelain Manufactory's Apponyi-décor cup from Radio President Katalin Kondor. The first runner-up was Nelli Szűcs, an artist from one of the neighbouring countries, and second runner-up was actress Judit Németh. Their prizes were also Apponyi-décor porcelain items from the Herend Porcelain Manufactory. In the "best performer from beyond the borders" category the prize went to Lóránt Váta.

A number of special prizes closed the evening: Mrs Dalma Mádl, for example, presented Gábor Mohai with a so-called "clawed" Herend vase, while Duna Television, which also gave live coverage of the event, awarded the viewers' prize to Judit Németh. The people's choice among the audience in the Veszprém theatre was János Papp.