PM Orbán’s dream: already more than 2.4 bn EUR spent on hosting the Olympic Games

According to zoom.hu, the government is currently preparing the expansions needed to host the 2032 Olympic Games in Budapest. If they manage to start most of the developments until 2022 it will be easier to convince international decision-makers. In fact, the government already decided to invest 750 bn HUF (EUR 2.4bn) in the project. According to the 2015 calculations, hosting the Olympic Games would cost 3,000 bn HUF (9.5 bn EUR). If PM Orbán managed to lower the costs by such tricks it would be easier for people to accept the project when the application is handed in.

Dream killers vs dream fulfillers

As we already reported, Budapest campaigned for hosting the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. However, the issue swiftly became a political question since only the government supported it while opposition parties resisted. In fact, they said that

the Fidesz-government’s corruption would ruin the whole Olympic project

Thus, the civil Momentum Movement submitted over a quarter million signatures to the Budapest election office to initiate a local referendum on Budapest’s bid to host the 2024 Olympic Summer Games. Since the government did not risk a possible failure on a referendum, the city withdrew its application in 2017 February.

PM Orbán does not give up

However, the project might

take on a new lease of life after Orbán’s landslide victory in the parliamentary elections.

Besides, even though Budapest withdrew its application, the developments mentioned in it are currently being carried out. The government is very conscious in this regard. For example, after the elections they supported the Hungarian Athletics Association’s application for hosting the 2023 IAAF World Championship. Therefore, they started to build an athletics stadium for 55 thousand spectators.