Between 19 and 27 August, more than 400,000 fans from 120 countries visited the National Athletics Center.Continue reading
The World Athletics Championships in Budapest were practically sold out: not only the national organizing committee, but also the international federation can be satisfied with the numbers. The August event over-performed in terms of paying spectators, writes Világgazdaság.
The World Athletics Championships in Budapest broke records: it attracted the most visitors in Hungarian sporting history. The World Athletics (WA) can be also satisfied with the numbers and especially the proportions. The Organizing Committee reported on the figures of the Hungarian World Championships as part of its follow-up activities, and with great pride:
The aim is to make the World Athletics Championships accessible to all,
Balázs Németh, CEO of Budapest 2023 Zrt., the organizer of the World Championships, emphasized. He detailed that affordable entry fees were set and a 50 percent discount on ticket prices was offered to those who participated in one of the 37 sporting events linked to the championships or completed individual challenges, which was one of the innovations that fans could experience for the first time at a world championships event.
According to a report on spectators at the event:
The United Kingdom topped the list of visiting countries, ahead of Germany and the United States.
Most importantly, the WA target for paying spectators was amply met, with the proportion of ticket buyers rising from 80% to over 85% of all spectators.
Photo via Facebook/World Athletics Championships Budapest 23
The organizing committee also gave details of the measures taken to serve the public and the charity actions.
We went to all the counties, and through individual challenges to practically every part of the country, to promote sport and healthy lifestyles through the World Championships,”
explained Németh. He added: a price cap was introduced in the World Championships area in the canteens and with the help of state transport company MÁV-Volán group, it was possible to travel back and forth from any part of the country to Budapest at a price of HUF 2,023 (EUR 5.27) during the tournament.
There was no shortage of programs for children at the event either. Photo via Facebook/World Athletics Championships Budapest 23
Almost 10,000 free tickets were distributed under the School hero (Sulihős) program to schools that had agreed to organize athletics sessions and competitions this year. A similar number of free tickets were also given to groups with special needs through the Civic Trail Foundation.
Social groups such as people with disabilities or in state care, large families, COVID orphans, single-parent families, who would otherwise have had no or only difficult access to the World Championships, were also given the opportunity to participate.
Groups such as students from the National Talent Center, schoolchildren from Ukraine, and Hungarian students from abroad who came to Hungary organized by the Rákóczi Association were able to participate free of charge.
Overall, the World Athletics Championships in Budapest exceeded all expectations. As the organizer, Németh put it: “It has been the greatest Hungarian sporting event of all time and we have received feedback over the past week and a half from the world’s most respected sports diplomats and athletics superheroes that it was amazing, impressive, perfect, excellent, the greatest, a new benchmark.”
Via Világgazdaság, Featured image via Facebook/World Athletics Championships Budapest 23
