Big news: Summer Olympic Games may be organised in Budapest in 2036, 2040, or 2044

Gergely Karácsony, the Mayor of Budapest, has pledged to present a request from the Hungarian Olympic Committee (MOB) and the Hungarian Paralympic Committee (MPB) to the city assembly. This request pertains to the participation of his administration and party officials in an exploratory process concerning a potential future Olympic Games in Budapest.

Housing crisis in Budapest

Karácsony stated that he and the leaders of the assembly’s party groups should collaborate with the Hungarian Olympic Committee in this joint exploration, as he mentioned in a post on Facebook on Thursday.

The mayor added that while the city does not require major sports facilities, it is worth investigating “all possibilities for revitalising Budapest’s public spaces and transport, while also alleviating the housing crisis.”

Karácsony also noted that residents of Budapest should be consulted on whether they wish to host the Olympic Games in the city.

However, he stressed that elected city representatives must first participate in the planning process. “I will ask them to engage in this at next week’s session of the city assembly,” he wrote, adding that he has invited Zsolt Gyulay, the chairman of the MOB, and László Szabó, the chairman of the MPB, to attend the assembly session.

Orbán cabinet did not comply with previous agreement

During a press conference, Karácsony mentioned that Budapest might host the Summer Olympic Games in 2036, 2040, or 2044. However, he acknowledged that numerous tasks must be addressed beforehand. 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.