(ATR) Budapest’s aspirations to host the 2024 Olympic Games have been strengthened as the City Assembly has given formal endorsement to the final candidature submission presented by the bid team.
The Budapest 2024 Submission will now pass to the International Olympic Committee as the bid progresses to the final stage of the race to host the 2024 Summer Games against opponents from Los Angeles and Paris.
Budapest 2024 chairman Balázs Fürjes spoke of the magnitude of the much needed government support.
"This was a magnificent endorsement of our plans to host the 2024 Games in Budapest." Fürjes said. "With only four votes registered against the proposition among the 29 voting members of the Assembly, city leaders hailed the strong cross-party support for the city’s bid."
Budapest mayor István Tarlós discussed the potential long-term benefits for the Hungarian capital.
"The bid represents a major investment in the city’s infrastructure, and one that will have an impact far beyond the Games," Tarlós said. "If Budapest wins the right to organize the 2024 Olympic Games, developments and investments can be realized in the next few years, rather than further in the future."
The newly approved bid submission outlines how the Budapest 2024 Venue and Master Plan could create a concentration of sporting events and venues, while offering benefits on a local, regional and national level. It projects an average travel time of 12 minutes between the Olympic village and venues, a Games plan that will involve seven Hungarian cities, and a Games that will offer convenient access to more than 100-million people in the central European region.
A Summer or Winter Games has never been hosted in central Europe. Nearby cities Prague, Vienna, Bratislava and Krakow are all within 525 kilometers of Budapest.
Additionally, Hungary is the only nation among the top 10 in Summer Olympic medals that has not hosted the Summer Games.
In July, Budapest will have a chance to prove its capability to the IOC and sporting world as it hosts the 17th FINA Aquatics World Championships. The Dagaly Swimming Complex, currently under construction, is going to serve as the main venue for the Championships.
Hungarian Olympic and world modern pentathlon champion Attila Mizsér is Budapest 2024’s director of sport and venues.
"This vote shows that Hungary has both the vision and the resources to deliver an outstanding and affordable Olympic Games," Mizsér said. "The city of Budapest has extensive experience of hosting top-level sporting events, as our staging of this summer’s FINA World Championships proves.
"In voting for the bid to progress to the next level, we are investing in the multi-decade development of a dynamically evolving Budapest and Hungary."
Budapest 2024 continues to position itself as a mid-size city that will benefit greatly from hosting an Olympic Games contrary to rival metropolises Paris and Los Angeles.
"The new Olympic agenda makes it possible for a new generation of mid-sized cities to host the Games," Fürjes said. "This new generation of mid-sized cities will create new possibilities for the Olympic Movement.
"This vote further strengthens our bid and with overwhelming support from the government of Hungary it enables us to deliver a brilliant, beautiful Games in a city ready to deliver. Budapest is the right city at the right time."
Budapest deputy mayor Alexandra Szalay-Bobrovniczky echoed similar thoughts.
"Budapest is now a city on the rise, powered by the energy and vitality of our ambition for the future and we are ready for the next major milestone in our modern history: the honor to host the world’s most inspiring sporting event; an Olympic Games in Budapest."
Following the city government approval of progression, the Budapest 2024 Bid Committee is due to submit its Candidature File to the IOC by the Feb. 3 deadline.
Written by Brian Pinelli
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