Budapest Bid Leader Worries About Future of Olympics

(ATR) The Olympic Movement is in danger of becoming solely the privilege of the "richest and biggest" cities in the world, according to Budapest 2024 bid leader Balázs Fürjes.

Speaking to international reporters at the newly crowned Danube Arena in Budapest this week, Fürjeslamented that a win for rival 2024 Games candidates Los Angeles or Paris in September would not send the right message for the Olympic movement.

The bid leader was defending Budapest's mid-size city Olympics concept as it comes under scrutiny from city officials this week following the news of a referendum on the bid.

But Fürjeswas adamant that without the Hungarian capital in the race, hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games may become a closed shop.

"If Budapest goes out, you will have for sure five times a mega city has hosted the Olympic Games: Beijing, London, Rio, Tokyo and LA or Paris," Fürjessaid. "So maybe the problem is it's not a good direction for the Olympics.

"The message would be that the Olympic Games is the privilege of the richest and the biggest cities. And if it ends up that way, I think it will not be good for the movement and it could just then circulate among the biggest and richest mega cities in the future."

Budapest is the only one of the candidate cities for 2024 to have never hosted a Games before, with LA and Paris both having hosted twice. That's not for want of trying, however, as Budapest has bid on five previous occasions.

Despite the bid now hanging in the balance and the tough fight it will then face to beat its rivals to the finish line in Lima later this year, Fürjessaid that it was still only a matter of time until the Games come to Hungary.

"We will come back," he said when questioned by Around the Rings on what it would mean should the bid fail.

"I am convinced and I believe that as it has been said before in other situations, the question is not if but when. The question is not if Budapest will host the Games but when. Especially also in Central Europe which has never hosted the Games before, it's not if but when.

"I am optimistic in that regard because also if the worst case scenario happens and we fail and the Olympics becomes the privilege of the richest and the biggest cities that might only be an intermediary period for the Olympic movement."

Fürjes'comments can be seen as a direct plea to the International Olympic Committee to bear in mind the Agenda 2020 proposals that were voted through in December 2014.

Part of Agenda 2020's plan, masterminded by president Thomas Bach, was to make it cheaper to host the Games, allowing smaller Olympic nations to bid to host events.

Should Budapest make it through to the IOC session in Peru in September, pushing the Agenda 2020 aspect of their bid is likely to be one of their biggest selling points.

Written and reported by Christian Radnedgein Budapest.

Follow him on Twitter @ChristianRad

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