‘Historic’ level urban development project on the horizon in Budapest?

Budapest’s concept for hosting the Olympics in the future should come with “historic” levels of urban development instead of just sports-related investment projects for their own sake, Gergely Karácsony, the city’s mayor, told a press conference on Friday.

Historic urban development needed for the Budapest Olympics, says Karácsony

Karácsony’s remarks come after the Hungarian Olympic Committee (MOB) and the Hungarian Paralympic Committee (MPB) on Thursday presented a request to the city assembly regarding the participation of his administration and party officials in an exploratory process regarding a possible future Budapest Olympics.

The mayor said Budapest could only host the Olympics if the event had majority support behind it and if it involved “historic” urban development.

Budapest will have to examine what hosting a Summer Olympics would mean, Karácsony said, pointing out that the MOB and the MPB’s request did not mean that an immediate decision had to be made, but that the city should debate what kind of an Olympics it could host.

Photo: FB/Karácsony

He said the request could not be denied, and the city would have to explore this opportunity without making any commitment to host the event.

Budapest residents will decide

Karácsony said that at next week’s session of the city assembly he will recommend that he and elected city representatives take part in the planning process together.

He said that if they could find common ground with the MOB and the MPB then they would also have to hold talks with the government because its guarantee was a necessary part of the process. He added that once a concept was finalised, it would be up to Budapest residents to make a decision on bidding for the Olympics.

Karácsony said Budapest already had the sports infrastructure for hosting the Olympics, adding that the city’s plan should involve “historic levels” of developments in transport, green infrastructure and housing rather than more sports-related investment projects. He said it needed to be made clear that Budapest was facing a housing crisis, and a future Olympic village should also be suitable for increasing the number of student hostel spaces and rental homes.

The Olympics Park in Budapest, Hungary. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Meanwhile, Karácsony said there was “no point” in talking about a Budapest Olympics if the city and the government could not put their relationship on a new footing.

In response to a question, the mayor said he still believed a local referendum on the Olympics was necessary, but a national referendum may also be a possibility. He also said a realistic timeframe for a possible Budapest Olympics would be between 2036 and 2044.

He pointed out that the Hungarian government had not fulfilled its obligations regarding the 2023 World Athletics Championships. When questioned, he indicated that the government had failed to transfer half of the EUR 123 million “Healthy Budapest” support scheme.

Liberal rainbow coalition must get the capital’s budget “back on its feet”

Responding to the press conference, Alexandra Szentkirályi, the head of Fidesz’s Budapest chapter, called on Karácsony to clarify the city’s financial situation and “manage the bankruptcy”.

Szentkirályisaid on Facebook that though an Olympics could bring with it developments that would serve the long-term interests of Budapest’s residents, “until the liberal rainbow coalition gets the capital’s budget back on its feet, no serious discussion on the Olympics is possible.”

She said Fidesz had always supported an Olympics to be hosted by Budapest, adding however that “as long as the city is nearing bankruptcy, the matter is not timely”.

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