“Budapest’s bid to organise the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics represents not just Hungary, but the whole Central European region, where the Games have never been held before”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said.
At a conference on the economic effects of the Olympics organised by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), Mr, Szijjártó explained that if the Olympic Games were held in Hungary they would mean the creation of some one-hundred thousand new jobs, generate 3.7 billion euros in revenues for the country and contribute 0.3 percentage points to economic growth, in addition to which they could see all existing tourism records broken. He also said that being one of the contenders to host the Games was in itself a source of pride, as Budapest is competing against Rome, Paris and Los Angeles, which have already hosted a total of five Olympics.
These are strong rivals, but Hungary knows how to compete with such strong competition, just as it has already shown on several occasions that it can get head of them within the field of foreign economic and trade relations, he said.
According to Mr. Szijjártó, holding the Olympics in a new location and a new region instead of one of the usual large metropolises would also represent a significant added value for the international Olympic movement. In view of its national importance, the Hungarian Government is providing all possible support and background for Hungary’s Olympic bid, he highlighted.
Mayor of Budapest István Tarlós said: An increasingly large proportion of the capital’s inhabitants and more and more organisations and decision-makers are standing behind the bid. Budapest could be one of the big winners of the Games, declared the Mayor of Budapest, according to whom the Olympics could be one of the major factors in the realisation of new economic development projects after 2020 and could therefore contribute to assuring the long-term development of both Budapest and Hungary.
Mr. Tarlós also pointed out that Hungary is the only nation with more than one hundred Olympic gold medals never to have hosted the Games.
Government Commissioner for Hungary’s Olympic bid Balázs Fürjes told Hungarian news agency MTI he believes many Hungarians currently living abroad would return to Hungary and put their language skills and professional knowledge to good use here at home thanks to the new work opportunities created by the Olympics.
The Olympics would bring with it a host of economic advantages: more money would be injected into the economy thanks to heightened global attention and more investors and tourists would choose Hungary as a destination, he explained. Mr. Fürjes also mentioned that the International Olympic Committee’s Agenda 2020 reform programme enables mid-sized cities to contend for the right to host the games, meaning the list of possible venues is now much longer. The IOC is moving in the direction of Games that are cheaper, more rational, more sustainable and provide better returns, and Budapest fits into this concept perfectly, he highlighted.
As an example, Mr. Fürjes mentioned that countries with existing venues or that are already planning or constructing permanent or temporary venues irrespective of the Olympics are at an advantage during the planning stage. For reasons of sustainability, the inclusion of rural or even cross-border venues in the hosting of the Games is also particularly supported, he added. According to plans, 90 percent of Hungary’s population will be able to travel to at least one Olympic competition within 90 minutes of their place or residence, the Commissioner told the press.
(MTI, Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister)
