This year Elvis Presley will be declared an honorary citizen of Budapest, Hungary and have a city landmark named after him.  Mayor Istvan Tarlos and the city council announced plans to bestow this honor on Elvis due to the singer’s sympathy and solidarity with the Hungarian Revolution against the communists in 1956.   Elvis actually made his feelings known about this issue on his third and final Ed Sullivan Show appearance.

During Elvis’s appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on January 6th, 1957, The King dedicated his final song “Peace in the Valley” to the people of Hungary.  Hungary was in the wake of the October 1956 anti-Soviet revolution and Elvis, who rarely took a political stance in his career, wanted to lend his support to the country’s plight. At Elvis’ request, Ed Sullivan also asked his TV audience to donate to Hungarian relief efforts.  This ended up raising about 25 million Swiss francs for the people of Hungary.

Voting for the landmark that will be named in Elvis’ honor is currently underway and ends on March 15.