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The Vice-President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has suggested that Hungary should bid to host the Summer Olympics. Juan Antonio Samaranch believes that Budapest could best host the Games. Previously, there were plans on the part of the government to bid on Hungary for 2024, but these failed due to the lack of social and political consensus.
This article was originally published on our sister-site, Ungarn Heute.
During his visit to Budapest where he attended a pentathlon World Cup, Samaranch praised Hungary for its many new sports facilities and said the Hungarian Olympic Committee is on the mend. He also praised the country’s commitment to the Olympic movement, adding that the Hungarian government is “passionate about sports.”
There are few countries that care so conscientiously about the Olympic movement. Now there is only one thing left to do: set your sights on the Olympic Games. They have the passion, the experience, the sports diplomacy, and the sports-oriented governance to do it – there are few countries on the old continent better suited to hosting the Olympics than Hungary,”
according to the Hungarian Olympic Committee (MOB) website.
Samaranch, whose father was President of the IOC between 1980 and 2001, believes the Hungarian Olympic Committee is on an upward trend, as evidenced by the many new sports facilities being built in Hungary.
In early 2021, the MOB leadership at the time set up a panel to examine what it would mean for the country to host the 2032 Games. Then-president Krisztián Kulcsár told HVG at the time that a macroeconomic analysis and an impact study would be prepared, which would also make the realities of the event credible. He said that “this can only move forward as a matter of national improvement, providing an experience for generations. The really important thing is that the country is a better place for all of us at the end of the road, and not just in terms of more Danube bridges or hotels.” Shortly after that, Australia received the right of organization.
Previously, the Hungarian government and the city of Budapest, led by István Tarlós (Fidesz-KDNP), had also applied to host the 2024 Olympics. However, the application was eventually withdrawn due to a successful referendum initiative against hosting (initiated by the opposition Momentum party). The capital’s administration justified the decision by saying that the political consensus that still existed at the time of the bid submission had “irretrievably” broken down, and “there is no chance of a successful bid if there is no political consensus on the bid and thus on the Olympic Games in Budapest.” The government, in agreement with the city administration, asked the Budapest City Assembly and the president of the Hungarian Olympic Committee to withdraw the bid to host the Olympic Games.
Featured image: Visual plan published by Budapest 2024 on January 4, 2017, for the Olympic Athletics Stadium in the Olympic Park cluster of sites in the IX, X, and XXI districts, in the area of the Kvassay water gate, which would be one of the venues for the possible 2024 Budapest Olympics. The visual design is by Brick Visual and the construction plans are by BORD Architect Studio. Photo by MTI
