Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Julio C. Maglione, President of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) and István Tarlós, Mayor of Budapest, jointly laid down the foundation stone of the Dagály Swimming and Aquatics Complex as the principal site to host the 2017 World Aquatics Championships.
Unity and cohesion will be the answers to the pressing deadlines and other obstacles, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated in his foundation stone laying ceremony speech. The Prime Minister reiterated that there is less than 800 days before the opening of the event, and we must prove that Hungary is able to achieve in two years that which others had four years to accomplish. There are some who quake at the prospect of such an undertaking, seek excuses, and claim that it is impossible; the times that we live in today are not for these people, Mr Orbán explained. "The world has changed. Before, it was the big fish that ate the small ones; these days, the fast fish eat the slow ones, and the brave ones devour the cowards", the Prime Minister said, and remarked: those who are afraid and stand aside because they do not believe in their own strength will drift with the current to the end of the line.
The Prime Minister described Hungary as a brave country, in reference to the way Hungary has conquered the crisis and succeeded in standing on its own two feet as well as to the organisation of the world aquatic championships. In his words, the country is making headway and is proving its worth, and it does not matter that there are pressing deadlines and there are obstacles in the way because the answer to these difficulties lies in unity and cohesion.
Mr Orbán thanked the 13th district, the capital and the opposition parties for their positive approach, and the international federation for the trust that it has placed in Hungary. At the same time, the Prime Minister added that we should above all say thanks to Hungarian swimmers who have reaped success after success with hard work and who are also recognised internationally. This was the decisive argument which compelled us to undertake the organisation of the event, Mr Orbán pointed out, making specific mention of Krisztina Egerszegi, who is the only athlete to have been awarded the St. Stephen Medal, and the Hungarian woman „who has drawn tears from the largest number of Hungarian men”.
Viktor Orbán spoke about the Government’s commitment to sports, highlighting that when we talk about sports, we talk about the future of Hungary. The Prime Minister takes the view that sports are the only safe point of reference which helps future generations to perform well in the world. "We shall not spare any sacrifice when it comes to them”, the Prime Minister pointed out.
Mr Orbán also said that Hungary will be not only a mere organiser but a genuine host of the world championships. He underlined that the foundation stone of the water complex to be erected on the premises of the Dagály swimming complex also represents a starting block from which we must dive into the realm of preparations with the same amount of diligence, courage and enthusiasm with which world-renowned Hungarian swimmers dive into the pool.
Viktor Orbán stressed that the whole country will gain by the world championships and the related projects: the new swimming complex to be built by a Hungarian firm will provide jobs for thousands of Hungarians and will be a site that is worthy of Hungary’s swimming achievements.
The Prime Minister wished Budapest the best of luck with writing its name in the book of sports history. "Let me play the lion too, let the whole world come to see us!", Viktor Orbán closed his speech.
As part of the foundation stone laying ceremony, a 40-kg time capsule was buried in the ground; it contains the Dagály Law passed by Parliament with a 97 per cent majority, a copy of the plans, and the film of the architectural visualisation. Following this, Balázs Fürjes, the government commissioner responsible for the development of Budapest, symbolically launched the project, and the construction machinery was turned on for a short while. The construction of the swimming complex, the attached transport developments, the road construction works and flood control works, and the construction of a pedestrian walkway and the embankment road will be completed in two years. The world championships will be held between 12 and 28 July 2017.
Mayor István Tarlós stressed: he is certain that Hungary will be able to organise the event as most of the development would be implemented even without the world championships. He added that the last World Aquatics Championships held in Barcelona were viewed on television by 4.5 billion spectators world-wide, and therefore these few weeks „will be about us”. The Mayor said that athletes from 181 countries will arrive in Hungary to take part in the event, and some 200,000 spectators are expected to attend. Reckoning with a 10 per cent foreign attendance rate, this will generate an additional 100,000 guest nights for tourism. The Mayor highlighted that the successful organisation of the World Aquatics Championships is also important for Hungary – which is the only nation with more than a hundred Olympic gold medals which has not yet hosted the Olympic Games – on account of the 2024 Olympic bid.
Tamás Gyárfás, President of the Hungarian Swimming Association said thanks to the best of Hungary’s aquatic sports, including five-time Olympic champion Krisztina Egerszegi, four-time winner Tamás Darnyi, and three-time Olympic gold medallist Dénes Kemény. In his words, with these titles, they symbolically contributed to the building blocks of the new swimming complex. Mr Gyárfás took the view that the day of the laying down of the foundation stone is even more important than the opening of the world championships. He added that a project on this scale was last implemented in the history of Hungarian swimming in 1930, upon the construction of the Hajós Swimming Complex on Margaret Island.
FINA President Julio C. Maglione expressed his gratitude for the effort which Hungary has made in order to take over the organisation of the event from Mexico. „Thanks to our excellent relations, you may organise the world championships here four years earlier than planned”, the sports executive said, adding that he is certain that when he hands over the flag of FINA to Mr Orbán in August, at the closing ceremony of the Kazan world championships, it will be in the best of hands. At the same time, Mr Maglione remarked: he sincerely hopes that he may claim at the end of the 2017 world championships that Hungary has closed the best FINA event of all times.
József Tóth, Mayor of Budapest’s 13th district stressed that this project is bound to succeed as one third of the Hungarian medals won at the Olympic Games were won by athletes with ties to the 13th district. Mr Tóth believes that the Dagály Swimming Complex will become the complex of the future; one that is built to the highest world standards.
(Prime Minister's Office/MTI)
