Budapest 2024 Delivers Bold New Vision of Olympic Sport in the Digital Age

A unique new exhibition in Budapest is giving visitors of all ages their own chance to win virtual Olympic gold as the Hungarian capital gears up its bid to stage the Games in 2024.

‘The Champion’ is a state of the art virtual reality experience that uses the most modern technology to transport each person on to the field of play to understand how it feels to take part in elite sport. (Video link to The Champion Exhibition, Budapest)

Developed with the co-operation of 49 top Hungarian athletes and Budapest 2024 bid, it combines the colourful worlds of fun parks and sports science to allow anybody from the age of 8 to 99 to test their skills in more than 20 interactive sports games.

From boxing to rafting, from javelin to fencing, they can test their skills at a range of Olympic sports and even spend two minutes through virtual reality as part of the national football team playing at Euro 2016.

Visitors can explore a huge collection of sport artifacts, and learn about the science and discipline behind elite sports such as the diet of swimmer Michael Phelps or the training schedule of an Olympic athlete.

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Visitors can also watch never seen before footage of top athletes in super slow motion (1000 frames per second) on large, all together 500 m2 projections, in artistic movies shot by the world famous award winning cinematographer, Chris Bryan.

It means a new generation can try out a variety of sports and find the ones they are most suited to. Throughout the show visitors can measure their performance via their NFC bracelet which records all their points, results and goals, and at the end provides a personalizedevaluation.

As Tibor Benedek, Hungary’s three times Olympic champion in waterpolo and main patron of the exhibition says: "It’s is our common responsibility to provide our children the possibility to have a sporty and healthy life".

"These kind of exhibitions can help a lot to bring more young people into sport, and the possibility of an Olympic Games in Budapest can also help a lot. Who knows, maybe a child will find the sport of his or her dreams here, and be an athlete at the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Budapest."

The ‘Champion’ experience has been designed as a travelling exhibition, and will go on a global tour later this year, but has opened in Budapest as part of the city’s bid to host the 2024 Games.

As well as virtual reality, the high tech installations include cinematic wall-projections, occasionally in stereoscopic 3D slow-motion, and multilayer real 3D holographic experience.

Krisztián Berki, Olympic gold medallist and three-time world champion gymnast, summed up the show: "At the Champion Exhibition people can have a deeper look at the world of sports. If after visiting they choose any of the sports to do, they can only make a good decision."

"It is our common responsibility to provide our children with the possibility to have a sporty and healthy life," Tibor Benedek, Hungary’s three times Olympic waterpolo champion.

For more information, please contact:

Ivan rozsa

Ivan.Rozsa@budapest2024.org

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