The World Athletics Championships will be held in Hungary next August.Continue reading
There is huge interest in the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, with people from 68 countries having already bought tickets for the event. As well as spectators, there will be no shortage of volunteers: 3,500 people have already registered for the program and the organizers will choose from them who will attend the event.
More than 2,000 athletes from over 200 countries and almost 8,000 accredited participants will arrive in Budapest for the world’s biggest sporting event in August. So far, 100,000 tickets have been sold in the first month of sales, exceeding the expectations of both the organizers and the international federation. The majority of ticket buyers are Hungarian, but many visitors will also come from England, the United States, and Germany, and there is strong interest from the Central European region.
Volunteers have until February 20 to sign up, and have already registered from 30 countries so far. Secretary of State for Sport Ádám Schmidt, the government commissioner responsible for the World Athletics Championships, said it was a great success that in just over a month, many more people had registered to volunteer than expected.
Balázs Németh, CEO of Budapest 2023 Zrt., the organizer of the World Championships, stressed that volunteers are key, without whom it would be unthinkable to organize such a major event. They will be the ambassadors of the sporting event, welcoming athletes and spectators at the airport or train station. They will also be there in the hotels, on the buses, in the warm-up area, and on the race track. They will have a huge responsibility and a big part of the credit, because they will be the ones who will make our dreams come true and make this the best World Athletics Championships ever, emphasized Németh.
The World Athletics Championships will take place between August 19 and 27, with the brand new National Athletics Center on the banks of the Danube in Budapest as the central venue. Other important venues include the start and finish areas for the marathon and walking races, Heroes’ Square, and the entire route, which will pass through the most beautiful and historic parts of Budapest.
The new stadium will have a capacity of 35,000 spectators during the World Championships, thanks to a 20,000-seat mobile grandstand on the second level. After the tournament, the building will be transformed into the new home of Hungarian athletics, with a 15,000-seat grandstand and a sports and leisure center open to all.
Featured photo via MTI/Kovács Attila
