European NOCs Back Budapest 2024

(ATR)Hungarian Olympic leaders are claiming support from 16 NOCs in central and southern Europe for Budapest 2024.

In a statement released on Monday, the Hungarian Olympic Committee said is has received "support at the highest level from the NOCs of central and southern Europe" forthe bid.

Following last week's European Olympic Committees General Assembly in Prague, the HOC said 16 NOCs declared support for the Budapest bid: Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey.

HOC general secretary Bence Szabo said he thinks this support reflects the implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020. Reforms set forth by the IOC's Agenda 2020 tout the importance of hosting a sustainable, cost-effective Olympic Games.

"Budapest is the right-sized city," Szabo commented."It is an Olympic-sized city and those countries surrounding us will benefit from having a global sporting event hosted in the center of the region."

The HOC said the resolution of support for Budapest 2024 was proposed by Zlatko Matesa,president of the Croatian Olympic Committee and EOC Executive Board member.

"The 16 NOCs supporting the resolution affirmed their collective conviction that Budapest was capable of hosting the Summer Olympic Games in 2024.

"They also noted that the city's location at the heart of the European Central and Southern regions made it the natural choice for the NOCs of these countries."

While the IOC rules for the 2024 campaign place limits on international promotion and endorsements, nothing in the rules appears to prevent NOCs expressing support for a bid city.

Three other European cities are in the2024race: Hamburg, Paris and Rome. Los Angeles is the fifth contender.

Groups from each of those bids traveled to Lausanne last week for a bidding workshop at IOC headquarters.

Speaking to Around the Rings in the Olympic capital, Budapest bid vice chair Gusztav Bienerth said, "The work which we have been doing for the past one and a half years is time and energy well invested."

He added, "There have been no surprises. We know by heart Agenda 2020 we know by heart the Olympic Charter. We are learning very much from the London experience… in many cases it's a benchmark. For the Paralympics, definitely.

"We will study very closely Rio. But I am relieved that we have been doing all the right things."

The IOC votes on the host city at the 2017 Session in Lima, Peru.

Written byNicole Bennett

For general comments or questions,click here.

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics isAroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.