Following the formal approval of Budapest 2024 Olympic bid venue plan earlier this week by Budapest’s city council, Balazs Furjes, Chairman of the newly-appointed Budapest 2024 bid committee said he sees Olympic planning leading to a “rebirth” of his city.
In a statement he said, “the venues are a combination of new and existing sites as well as temporary and permanent facilities. The decision behind the choice of venues was driven by considerations of long term use, legacy and the desire to utilize Budapest’s unique qualities as a sporting host city – we wanted to exploit the compactness together with the festival culture of urban Budapest to make the Games a continuous Olympic celebration for the public.”
“The Games will also give Budapest, uniquely at this important moment in the city’s rebirth, the opportunity to renew the physical infrastructure of the city for the long term benefit of the people of Hungary.
“For us, the venue and Games concept is genuinely instrumental in the city’s long term sustainable development plan”.
The venue plan includes the construction of a 60,000 capacity stadium for track and field and a tennis complex with a 10,000-seat main court. The temporary facilities include beach volleyball and archery.
In contrast, this month Los Angeles’ bid emphasized that it will make use of existing and planned venues as much as possible in order to maximize sustainability and legacy. With the announcement of the planned construction of a new National Football League stadium and the use of University accommodations for the Olympic and Media villages, the American bid slashed hundreds of millions of dollars from its infrastructure budget.
“This approach,” Furjes continued, “with 23 venues hosting 22 sports and 31 disciplines within a 10 km radius of the Olympic Village – is intended to create a concentration of Games experience that will make for a truly accessible edition of the Olympics.”
“This is designed to optimize conditions – as well as the spectacle and the richness of the Games experience – for athletes and spectators alike.”
Budapest is competing with Los Angeles, Paris and Rome for the 2024 Games and the host city election will occur September 2017.
