Today
Today the place of the picnic is marked by a monument of Miklós Melocco, by a bell presented from the city of Debrecen (from where the idea of the Picnic emerged), a pagoda presented by the Association of the Japanese–Hungarian Friendship and by a wooden monument unveiled by the organisors in 1991. A large artwork symbolizing a Cross and a barbed wire can be found at the Cave Theatre of Fertőrákos, a few kilometres from the site. The artwork was made by Gabriela von Habsburg, a daughter of Otto von Habsburg.
The Pan-European Picnic is considered a highly significant milestone in the efforts that led to the end of the GDR and to the German reunification. Commemorative ceremonies are held each year on 19 August at the place where the border was opened.
In 2009, Angela Merkel, who grew up in East Germany, visited festivities marking the 20th anniversary and thanked Hungarians for courage and foresight: "Two enslaved nations together broke down the walls of enslavement... and Hungarians gave wings to East Germans' desire for freedom."
Hungarian President László Sólyom unveiled a white marble monument in memory of those who had risked their life to cross the Iron Curtain.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said that "We must remain an open Europe of open societies and open minds, open to others beyond our present boundaries".
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