Budapest becoming the center of water sports

Budapest will host LEN’s annual congress on 2 June 2018 due to the decision of the international organization’s assembly on Friday in Copenhagen, as M4 Sport reported. The preparations for the international event will be carried out by the Hungarian Swimming Association (MÚSZ) and BP2017 Nkft. It was the latter that hosted the professionally and economically successful FINA World Championship 2017.

LEN’s finance manager Tamás Gyárfás stated that he managed to have an agreement with president Paolo Barelli about Rome’s withdrawal. This means that LEN Büro decided on Friday in Copenhagen that it will be Budapest that hosts next year’s congress.

“We welcome everyone to Budapest”, president of MÚSZ Sándor Wladár claimed at the assembly. He was introduced by Paolo Barelli as the champion of 200-meter backstroke at the Olympics in Moscow.

Wladár added that “Hungarian water sports are in good hands, as those people manage it who have them in their genes.”

Managing director Éva Szántó and finance director Sándor Balogh represented BP2017 Nkft. in Copenhagen and they presented the plans for the congress. The event was hosted in Hotel InterContinental.

Tamás Gyárfás added, after the assembly: “The leaders of water sports loved Budapest too much because of the professional execution of the world championship and the European championships before that. I can say, with a bit of exaggeration, that we have achieved that, whenever a host is needed for an event, the first question the international association or the leadership of FINA and LEN asks: is Budapest available for the task? The competition is only initiated if the answer is no… It is an honor for everyone who took part in the preparation and execution of past years’ events.”

A whole lot of international water sports events are ready to be hosted in Hungary.

An open water world championship is due in Balatonfüred (16 June 2018) and one of the stations of the swimming world championship will also be in Hungary in late summer or early autumn. A part of the synchronized swimming World Series opens in the Duna Aréna in May, followed by the junior championship of synchronized swimmers and the men’s junior water polo world championships in Szombathely.

Open water world championships and swimming world cups seem to be recurring events. Budapest will host all the European championships (water polo in January, swimming, diving and synchronized swimming in May, open water swimming in June) in 2020. Duna Aréna will be the venue of the short course swimming world championships in 2024.

Photo: Facebook.com/dunaarenabudapest

Source: M4 Sport