FINA – Budapest2017: At swimming worlds, Hungary deserves biggest gold of all – SwimSwam
The World Championships came to a close earlier this month and it always takes a week or two to reflect back and absorb some of the great performances that we witnessed, along with the event’s overall impact on the sport and the global sporting landscape.
I have the unique perspective in that the last world championships I attended were the 1998 FINA World Championships in Perth, Australia. Yes, those were the last Swimming Worlds that did not have a swimmer named either Michael Phelps or Ryan Lochte competing in them — so my Worlds experiences have bookended the Michael Phelps era.
Spanish swimmer commemorating Barcelona victims – VIDEO
A Spanish swimmer decided to commemorate the victims of the terrorist attack in Barcelona in a special way. He did not jump into the water when his contest began during the FINA World Championship. Fernandó Alvarez was standing silently on the pulpit for a minute, then he jumped into the water and began to swim as usual. His opponents have done their first length by then.
FINA spokesman Miklós Borsa told Tények that there were multiple memorial services dedicated to the victims: first there was a commemoration on Friday next to the Danube Arena, and there was also one minute of silence on Sunday in both venues before the contests begun. The same ritual was done in the evening during the closing ceremony.
Protocol coordinator, Nikoletta Sz. Hossó stated that Alvarez participated in the official memorial service organized by the hosts of FINA as well, but he also intended to give his condolences as an individual.
There were rumors that the hosts did not support Alvarez’s gesture, yet this is not true. Moreover, Fernandó Alvarez told the medics that he will jump only after some delay, and he even sent a letter to the organisers, thanking them for making this gesture possible. He wrote that commemorating the victims multiple times was not only important for him, but for the family and friends of the deceased as well.
Alvarez also stated that Hungary hosted the best championship he has ever been to. He highlighted that this means much more to him than if he had won the contest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWqt5VFXNZY
Photo: Youtube.com
ce: ZsK
The 2017 FINA World Masters Championships ended in Hungary
“It will be very hard to outshine Budapest”, said Mohamed Diop, the Supervisor of FINA Bureau’s Masters Committee at the closing ceremony of the 2017 FINA World Masters Championships. This marks the end of a phenomenal month for Budapest and Balatonfüred when the two cities turned into the home and capital of water sports.
The World Masters Championships started on the 7th of August, one week after the FINA World Championships had ended, and finished on the 20th of August. The two weeks were quite eventful as one-time professional swimmers took turns in the water and impressed the whole world with their persistence, still amazing physique and zest for life.
According to masters.fina-budapest2017.com, the history of the master events started a few decades ago. After initiations from several organisations, the newly elected FINA President Robert Helmick proposed to the Bureau in 1984 that the international federation take Masters under its wing. The preparation processes started and special rules were drawn up so that Masters could join the FINA family and events, and the members of a Masters Committee were appointed.
The first championships were held in Tokyo in 1986, under the rules of FINA. Swimming remained the only sport at the event until 1990, since then, all five disciplines form parts of the show. According to the format introduced in 2015, the FINA World Masters Championships has to be held alongside the main event, as its integral part.
The events of the Masters Championships took place at four competition venues: three in Budapest, and one in Balatonfüred for the open water swimming races. Similarly to the elite competitions, the main venues were the Danube Aquatics Arena (swimming, diving), the Alfréd Hajós Complex (water polo) and the City Park (synchronised swimming).
The minimum age limit at the championships was 25 in most disciplines (except for water polo – 30), which is determined by the actual age of the competitor as of December 31st of the year of the competitions. The participants were listed in five-year age groups as high as is necessary.
As we reported, several records were broken by amazing athletes, who still find joy in sport and know no age limits. The oldest male athlete at the championships was the 97-year-old Hungarian veteran, Béla Bánki Horváth, while the oldest female participant was the 96-year-old American Emilie Kornfeld. She was the only one who entered the 800 m freestyle event in the 95-99 age group, and managed to set a new world record with an amazing performance.
All in all, more than ten thousand athletes participated at the World Masters Championships. More than four thousand swimmers were present in the Danube Arena for the relay events just on Friday. Team Hungary did very well, they collected 121 medals: 42 gold, 44 silver and 35 bronze.
The biggest sensation for Hungarians was certainly the victory of the Millennium 40+ water polo team, which was made up of former Olympic Champions. It was a real privilege to see the legends reunite and play gracefully. Just like before, no one could come close to them, they simply dominated the field. Tibor Benedek believes that friendship and love were the key ingredients of the victory.
Hungarians also dominated the 30+ category in women’s water polo, with excellent athletes from the 1994 World Champion team. Besides these two outstanding victories, Hungary won seven more medals in water polo.
Hungarian divers are also worth mentioning, because they competed outstandingly well. They won 19 medals (8 gold, 7 silver, 4 bronze). Our open water swimmers collected four medals, while the crowd could rejoice at the success of the Hungarian synchronised swimmers seven times. A curiosity is that some members of the Organising Committee also participated in certain events. For instance, Levente Nagy-Pál won a bronze medal in open water swimming.
Swimming events were the most popular among Hungarian Masters athletes, which is reflected in the number of medals: they won 83 medals, 66 in individual events and 17 in relay events. Furthermore, the most successful Hungarian athlete of the championships was Valter Kalaus, who won three gold and three silver medals, plus a fourth place.
To sum up, the 2017 FINA Masters World Championships ran its course perfectly. Budapest and Balatonfüred welcomed phenomenal athletes who know no limits. The FINA leaders called it the best Masters event ever, hopefully, the athletes agree with this statement 🙂
Featured image: MTI
ce: ZsK
What Economic Effects can the 2017 FINA World Championships Have?
Many sports fans do not realise it, but such a grand sports event as the FINA Aquatic World Championships can be a great boost to the economy, if well organised, though if programmed poorly, can cause it great damage, GLOBS Magazine said.
The 2017 World Championships finished in Hungary just a few weeks ago, so we cannot yet provide accurate data as to whether the investment will actually generate a return. That is hard to measure anyway, as the majority of any profit is not realised straight away; the event generates significant profit indirectly. Because of the championships, more and more people will get to know the country’s attractions and will visit Hungary years, or even decades, later.
However, what we know for sure is that the cost of the developments for the World Championships is close to HUF 84 billion, from which lasting developments have been created in both Budapest and at Lake Balaton.
Minister for National Development Miklós Seszták, said that these projects would have been implemented anyway, regardless of the World Championships. FINA Executive Director, Cornel Marculescu also agreed with the Minister and added that the investment was worthwhile for the country because it will remain as heritage, enhancing the attraction of Budapest. He highlighted that, in his opinion, our country has done an exceptional hosting job, as we originally applied for the 2021 Swimming World Championships and then, as Mexico withdrew from hosting this year’s competition, we took over and had on two years for preparation instead six. Government Commissioner Balázs Fürjes, responsible for the key developments in Budapest, also stated that the increased water surface, the newly built cycle paths and green areas must be included among the positive proceeds of the sports event
After all the costs, let us see how much, and from what, our country can profit on the basis of the surveys of the previous two World Championships which were carried out by the Centre for Economics and Health, University of Pompeu Fabra. During the 2013 FINA World Championships in Barcelona 1,853 jobs were created directly, indirectly and in relation to the sport. The direct and indirect effects, as well as the economic effects on the sport reached EUR 211 million this year. According to the managers of the event, the Hungarian event will produce a lot more.
In regard to the number of spectators, estimates by Kantar Media concluded that the competition in Barcelona was watched by 4.5 billion and the competition in Kazan in 2015 by 6.8 billion people. The organisers estimate higher figures for Hungary than the previous numbers in this case too. Total viewing was measured by the official viewing measurement centres of the countries where a TV company had officially purchased broadcasting rights from FINA. The dedicated programmes such as live, repeated and recorded coverage and summaries, as well as short, thirty second reports shown in news programmes, are also included in the total viewing figures.
In relation to the global media effect, it may be said that, in 2013, the number reached EUR 1.36 billion while in 2015 it was USD 3.8 billion. The organisers of the event have said that they estimate the figures to be higher at the 2017 championships.
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FINA chief Maglione: Hungary ‘superb host’ of aquatics championships
Hungary was a “fantastic” host of both the FINA world aquatics championships and the masters championships held between July 14-30 and August 7-20 respectively, FINA chief Julio Maglione told a press conference.
The FINA president reiterated that Budapest and Balatonfüred had hosted the best world aquatics championships of all times.
The viewing data are still being processed, but the championships are sure to have boosted the popularity of aquatic sports worldwide, Maglione said. He specifically thanked the Hungarian government, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the organisers, the volunteers and Hungarian citizens “for the miracle they performed in the two years since Mexico’s withdrawal from the organisation”.
Originally, in 2011, the city of Guadalajara received the right to host the 2017 championships. Four years later, however, Mexico backed out of the commitment pleading lack of funds.
As we published a survey, fully 80 percent of Hungarians asked said that hosting the recent world aquatics championships was a good idea, while merely 11 percent said the opposite.
Photo: MTI
Amazing world record by a 96-year-old woman at the FINA Masters World Championships in Budapest
According to szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu, the American Maurine Emilie Kornfeld is the oldest female swimmer at the 2017 FINA Masters World Championships. She was the only one who entered the 800 m freestyle event in the 95-99 age group, and managed to set a new world record with an amazing performance.
The 96-year-old athlete finished the race in 21 minutes 39.10 seconds, which signifies a new world record in her category. In fact, her result is so great that she even came before three contestants in the 90-94 age group.
Altogether 9,404 athletes – out of them 756 Hungarians – entered the 2017 FINA Masters World Championships in Budapest, which started last Monday and lasts until the 20th of August. Most athletes – 6,521 – entered the swimming events, but there are also 1,595 water polo players, 1,240 open water swimmers, 520 synchronised swimmers and 322 divers among the participants.
Regarding Hungarian athletes, there are 396 swimmers, 238 water polo players, 135 open water swimmers, 30 synchronised swimmers and 25 divers.
The oldest participant in the whole field is a Hungarian swimmer, Béla Bánki Horváth, who was born on the 20th of December, 1920, meaning that he’ll turn 97 at the end of this year. He is the only athlete in his event in the 95-99 age group. The oldest female athlete is Maurine Emilie Kornfeld mentioned above, who’ll turn 96 on the 27th of November.
The youngest participants were born in 1992 as the first age group starts from age 25. The Masters World Championship features five disciplines: open water swimming in Balatonfüred, and swimming, synchronised swimming, diving and water polo in Budapest.
Featured image: MTI
ce: ZsK
Liszt Ferenc Airport passenger numbers up by 15.4 pc in July
Passenger numbers at Liszt Ferenc International Airport in Budapest rose by an annual 15.4 percent to 1.33 million in July, operator Budapest Airport said on Wednesday.
Passenger numbers were higher than usual because the FINA World Aquatics Championships in Budapest and Balatonfüred, and the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix were both held in July.
Air cargo volume reached 10,729 tonnes and the combined number of arriving and departing flights was 10,097 in July. The most popular destinations were London, Paris and Amsterdam.
As we wrote before, Lufthansa will modify its timetable and increase its number of flights between Budapest and Frankfurt. In the winter timetable, it usually has four flights a day between Hungary’s capital and Germany’s busiest airport.
Photo: MTI
The 17th FINA Masters World Championship has begun in Budapest
Yesterday, on the 7th of August 2017, the 17th FINA Masters World Championship kicked off at Budapest. Following the biggest Aquatics World Championship ever, spectators and fans can root for our favourite Olympics, Europe- and World Champions.
The Aquatics World Championship’s competition venues have been filled already at 8 o’clock yesterday with sportsmen and women and fans, as the 17th FINA Masters World Championship has begun – said Miklós Borsa, the spokesman of Bp2017 Nkft. The water polo games have started in Alfréd Hajós National Swimming Stadium, the synchronised swimming numbers’ venue is the Városliget, and the diving numbers are taking place at the Danube Arena.
Miklós Borsa’s briefing also revealed that competitors are arriving in great numbers at the Masters Championship. There are four times more competitors taking part in the numbers and games than in the elite championship: almost 10,000 sportsmen registered from 92 countries.
There are approximately 6500 masters swimmers, 540 synchronised swimmers, 1200 pelagian swimmers and 340 divers, and 120 water polo teams, which is the maximum number allowed of competing teams in this number.
The organisers are expecting a great number of spectators cheering at the venues, as there are no entrance fees to the games. For example, the tickets for the Millenium water polo team’s matches – some of which took place yesterday, and the rest taking place today – have run out just in a couple minutes already at the pre-registration. The reason for this is the great interest in the team which members are fan-favourite Olympic athletes.
Although the numbers have begun yesterday in the morning, the official opening ceremony of the masters championship took place only at 8:30 pm yesterday evening. The venue for the ceremony was the spectator zone at Margaret Island, the participation was free. The organisers have put up a special show to welcome the almost 10,000 competitors and fans. Among others, the ExperiDance group and the Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra performed.
Further good news for those interested in Hungary’s and the FINA’s biggest sports event is that yesterday the Budapest 2017 Masters app was launched, which is the official mobile application of the 17th FINA Masters World Championship. You can stay updated on the games, as there are news, programmes, interviews, videos and photos about the event available on the app. It is compatible with Windows, Android and iOS operating systems.
The spectator zones await fans with interesting and colourful programs during the championship. For example, yesterday before the opening ceremony the Millenium team’s match was screened at the spectator zone at Margaret Island. The Millenium team played with the Turkish team, where the previous won.
featured photo: www.fina.org
Hungarian business and financial news from the previous week
See below MTI’s main business and financial news from the previous week:
MOL Q2 PROFIT CLIMBS 12 PC
Second-quarter net income of oil and gas company MOL rose by an annual 12 percent to 88.8 billion forints (EUR 291.4m), an earnings report showed. Earnings were over the 70.1 billion forint estimate by analysts polled by Portfolio.hu. The company raised guidance for full-year clean CCS EBITDA to “above 2.3 billion US dollars” from “at least 2 billion US dollars” earlier.
MTEL Q2 PROFIT EDGES UP TO HUF 10.9 BN
Magyar Telekom’s second-quarter after-tax profit edged up an annual 2 percent to 10.9 billion forints, lifted by lower taxes, an earnings report showed. Revenue rose by 9 percent to 153.5 billion forints, but direct cost of sales jumped 28 percent to 62.7 billion forints. EBIDTA fell 2 percent to 47.9 billion forints. MTel booked income tax of 3.9 billion forints for Q2, down 27 percent from the base period. Guidance for full-year revenue was raised to “around 580 billion forints” from 560 billion forints earlier
TWO-THIRDS OF VISITORS TO HUNGARY DURING SWIMMING WORLDS PLAN TO RETURN
As we wrote before, two-thirds of foreigners who visited Hungary during the FINA World Aquatics Championships in July definitely plan to return to the country, a survey by the Hungarian Tourism Agency showed. Four of five visitors said they would recommend Hungary to their friends. The FINA Championships attracted 485,000 spectators on July 14-30.
Another representative survey said, fully 80 percent of Hungarians asked said that hosting the recent world aquatics championships was a good idea.
HUNGARY HOME PRICE INCREASE SLOWS TO 11.6 PC IN Q1
The increase in home prices in Hungary slowed to 11.6 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, a report released by the National Bank of Hungary showed. The annualised increase slowed from 15.2 percent in Q4, 14.9 percent in Q3 and 12.7 percent in Q2 of last year. In Budapest, home prices were up 16.9 percent year-on-year in Q1.
Student rental accommodation in Budapest is being advertised for a monthly 150,000 forints (EUR 490) on average, according to estate agents.
HUNGARY INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT CLIMBS 4.0 PC IN JUNE
Hungary’s industrial output rose by an annual 4.0 percent in June, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said in a first reading of data. Adjusted for the number of workdays, output was up 6.5 percent. The unadjusted increase slowed from an 8.8 percent rise in May. The adjusted increased accelerated from 6.2 percent.
TAKARÉKBANK, SAVINGS COOPS BOOST COMBINED STAKE IN FHB TO 86.76 PC IN BUYOUT OFFER
Takarekbank acquired a little more than 20 million shares of FHB Mortgage Bank in a pubic purchase offer, bringing the stake it holds in the lender, together with stakes held by savings cooperatives with whom it acts in concert, to 86.76 percent, FHB disclosed on the website of the Budapest Stock Exchange. Takarékbank offered 533 forints per share for FHB’s “A”-series ordinary shares and “B”-series preference shares, and 5,330 forints per share for the bank’s “C”-series ordinary shares between June 26 and July 31.
HOME LOAN OUTLAYS HIGHEST IN YEARS
Hungarian banks signed contracts for 66.8 billion forints of new home loans in June, 37.4 percent more than in the same month a year earlier, and 8.9 percent more than in May, data released by the National Bank of Hungary showed. Outlays were last higher in October 2003.
NBH SELLS EIFFEL PALACE FOR EUR 53.8 M
The National Bank of Hungary (NBH) said it sold the landmark Eiffel Palace office building in the centre of Budapest for net 53.8 million euros to a fund managed by Corpus Sireo, base in Luxembourg. The NBH called an open tender for the sale of the building in March 2017. It paid net 45.3 million euros for the property in the summer of 2014.
HUNGAST ACQUISITION OF SODEXO MAGYARORSZÁG CLEARED
Hungary’s Competition Office (GVH) said it cleared family-owned cafeteria company Hungast Holding’s takeover of peer Sodexo Magyarország. The companies’ combined market share of Hungary’s school cafeteria business is 35-45 percent, but GVH said the transaction had no verifiable impact on horizontal market competition.
OTP JELZÁLOGBANK HOME LOAN PRODUCTS CERTIFIED “CONSUMER-FRIENDLY” BY NBH
Home loan products offered by OTP Jelzálogbank, the mortgage arm of Hungary’s biggest commercial lender, have been certified “consumer-friendly” by the National Bank of Hungary, the central bank said. The NBH recently rolled out the consumer-friendly home loan certification to counter high interest margins and a low rate of borrower refinancing. Lenders could apply for the certification from June 1. Products offered by MKB Bank, K+H Bank, Erste, FHB Commercial Bank and 50 members of Hungary’s integrated savings cooperatives have also been certified.
Photo: http://eiffelpalace.hu
Jobbik submits bill on banning politicians from top sport positions
Opposition Jobbik submitted on Saturday a bill that bans politicians from filling leadership posts at sport organisations, a party lawmaker said.
György Szilágyi told a press conference that under their motion, parliamentary deputies, government commissioners, local government officials and MEPs would be prohibited from serving in top positions of a sport federation or a sport club.
He said that the ruling Fidesz party had been seeking “to exert control” over all sport branches in Hungary, thereby causing a lot of damage to the industry as a whole.
“In a democratic society leadership in sports is strictly separated from leadership in politics, and this is how the system should also work in Hungary in the interest of sports as a profession,” Szilágyi said.
He said that the FINA World Aquatics Championships Hungary hosted last month had been a success, but it was important to scrutinise how the funds allocated for the event had exactly been spent.
Parliament’s national security committee reconvenes
Parliament‘s national security committee held a special session behind closed doors on Thursday, following a no-show of the ruling parties at a meeting on Monday.
The Thursday session had several subjects on its agenda, including security of high-profile events, residency bonds, as well as cyber protection of the country’s election system.
Szilárd Németh, deputy head of the committee (ruling Fidesz), told a press conference after the meeting that the last subject, which had not been included in the agenda for Monday, was a “crucial issue”, on which a debate was “justified”. He insisted that the Monday session would have “served the interests of (US billionaire) George Soros” and its agenda had been based on “rumours” and “malevolent lies by the opposition”.
Concerning recent, international events held in Hungary, Németh said that in light of the level of security ensured “Hungary showed the image of a most secure country”. He argued that none of the earlier organisers of a world aquatics championships had scored as high as Hungary in terms of security at the events.
On the subject of reports that Russian and Azeri interconnectivity providers may have collected user data at the recent World Aquatics, Nemeth insisted that the company in question had met all security criteria, but in the end was not contracted. On the same subject, however, Socialist head of the committee Zsolt Molnár and Bernadett Szel of the green opposition LMP party said that the data “could have gotten in the wrong hands” and insisted that there were loopholes in the regulations.
Photo: MTI
Four fifths of Hungarians say hosting world aquatics championships was ‘good idea’
Fully 80 percent of Hungarians asked said that hosting the recent world aquatics championships was a good idea, while merely 11 percent said the opposite, a representative survey by Nézőpont shows.
The pollster asked a sample of 1,000 just before the competitions that took place from July 14 to 30, and another 500 ones after them.
In July the ratio of Hungarians disapproving of the country hosting the championships was 21 percent. The shift in approval reflects the success of the event, Nézőpont said.
The rate of those satisfied with the way the championships were organised rose from 58 percent to 72 percent, the survey said.
Over two thirds, 68 percent of Hungarians agreed that Hungary should apply to host other sports events of the same scale, Nézőpont said.
As we wrote before, almost half a million, 485 thousand spectators viewed the events of the World Aquatic Championships at five venues in Budapest and Balatonfüred
Photo: MTI
French Minister in Hungary again after seven years
Minister of State for Sports Tünde Szabó had talks with French Sports Minister Laura Flessel at the Duna Arena. It adds to the significance of the meeting that no French leader of the rank of minister had been to Hungary since 2010.
First of all, Tünde Szabó congratulated the French Sports Minister on the excellent performance of French athletes at the 17th FINA World Aquatic Championships. They are currently ranked fifth in terms of medals won.
Laura Flessel congratulated her Hungarian counterpart on the successful implementation of the World Championships, and expressed her most sincere appreciation in connection with the central venue of the sporting event, the Duna Arena.
During the course of the talks, Laura Flessel expressed her interest in everyday physical education and Hungarian sports scholarship programmes.
Tünde Szabó introduced the system of Hungarian sports administration, and said that the Hungarian Government looks upon sports as a priority strategic sector. Everyday physical education is therefore one of the foundation stones of its target system which serves to guarantee minimum forty-five minutes of physical education every day for elementary and secondary school students as part of the school curriculum. At the same time, the Hungarian Sports Stars scholarship programme serves to coordinate active competitive sports and studies in higher education. Within the framework of the programme, scholarship grants are awarded every six months on average to 100 athletes studying in higher education who render outstanding performance in sports.
During the course of the meeting, the French Sports Minister specifically urged the conclusion of a cooperation agreement between the two countries in the field of sports. She further updated her Hungarian counterpart on the progress of the 2024 Paris Olympic bid. She said that France is determined to host the Olympic Games in 2024, and to this end they also wish to rely on the support of Hungary’s sports leadership.
Tünde Szabó and Laura Flessel agreed to start negotiations in the interest of signing a cooperation agreement between the two countries within the shortest possible time.
Photo: kormany.hu
Here are the premiums of Hungarian FINA stars
Both the Hungarian state and the international association pays bonuses to the contenders. Forbes.hu examined the premium of the Hungarian team.
Sport is a vital part of the economy, especially for the entertainment branch. The international association pays enormous fortunes for the contenders to ensure that they keep on popularizing water sports in their world championships. Prize contests provide a driving force to the branch of sports. Contenders may receive reasonable sums even if there is no current world or European championship or Olympics. Moreover, the more prestigious sports events are held, the bigger the profit of swimming is. This sport has gone through a long development from that sense.
Premium played a vital role in the events of FINA World Championships. It is mostly because sports celebrities often skip the world championship after the Olympics. It is not a surprise that FINA paid more for a world record than a gold medal. They were trying to motivate the best contenders to attend the championship in Budapest instead of resting.
FINA’s prizes also show which sports are the more popular, as those receive more premium who participate in sports that concern more people, as they produce more profit. One of the most interesting aspects of comparison is the difference between swimming and water polo.
If someone has become a world champion with a world record in a single event, they receive 50,000 dollars (approximately 42,329 euros) from FINA, while the Croatian water polo team receives 80,000 dollars (67,727 euros) altogether for a gold medal, divided among 13 players.
The Hungarian sports financing system has been changed by the support that can be given through TAO (corporate tax). Swimmers also have advantages concerning institutions, but they cannot receive TAO funds.
Besides the victory premiums of FINA, the Hungarian state also pays for ranks, as it is regulated in a government regulation. The funds award ranking between first and third place. That is the reason why we examined contenders winning a bronze medal at least.
Multiple gold medal winner swimmer Katinka Hosszú received the highest premium with 26,810 euros from the state and 55,766 from FINA. She is followed by silver medal winner Dávid Verrasztó and triple junior world recorder Kristóf Milák, both of which gained 6187 euros from Hungary and 128,692 from FINA. The total prize distributed among Hungarian sports stars was 4,738,707 euros.
Photo: MTI
ce: ZsK
Impact of World Championships on Hungary’s image is outstanding
The impact of the World Aquatic Championships on Hungary’s image is overwhelmingly positive, foreign tourists are satisfied with the country, Zoltán Guller, Chief Executive of the Hungarian Tourism Agency said at a press conference held on Tuesday in the Duna Arena.
He added: the Hungarian Tourism Agency conducted a survey by personally interviewing foreign tourists in Budapest and Balatonfüred regarding the impact of the FINA World Aquatic Championships on Hungarian tourism.
He highlighted: the country was given an unprecedented opportunity to showcase itself and its values to the world, hundreds of millions of television viewers saw Budapest’s tourism features. The foreign tourists who came to Hungary are returning to their home countries with very positive impressions: two thirds of those interviewed are planning to visit Hungary later on, 98 per cent are open to returning, and four out of five people said they will recommend Hungary as a tourist destination to their acquaintances.
Mr Guller said: the country did not only pass the test with flying colours as the organiser of the world event, but also as a host and tourist destination in the past couple of weeks.
He added: according to preliminary expectations, as a result, billions more money will flow into tourism thanks to the tournament. Additionally, those coming to Hungary because of the event spent four times as much time in the country as visitors coming here at other times. The average stay was 9 days, in contrast to 2.4 days in general. With high-prestige sporting events with a large spectatorship, it is possible to attract to the country solvent tourists who are able to stay here for longer, and this is one of the most important strategic objectives of the Hungarian Tourism Agency, he said in summary.
He highlighted: according to the survey, the image of Hungary has changed for the better in the case of one half of foreigners visiting the country, and their satisfaction stood at 8.73 points on a scale of one to ten. Satisfaction with the infrastructure – transport, accommodation, general hygiene and cleanliness – was also very high, all criteria under examination scored higher than 8 on a scale of one to ten.
The greatest positive change was achieved in the perception of security, the opinions of 57 per cent of interviewees changed for the better, and on a scale of one to ten security scored 8.84 points.
Mr Guller pointed out: the impact of the tournament on Hungary’s image is extremely positive which may induce significant long-term effects and will further shift Hungary’s country image in a positive direction.
Visitors to the event were typically young graduates, almost one half fell into the age group between 18 and 29 years, 62 per cent stayed in hotels, and 53 per cent opted for four- to five-star hotels.
As we wrote before, the events of the World Aquatic Championships held between 14 and 30 July were viewed by almost half a million, 485 thousand spectators at five venues.
What the FINA World Aquatics Championships meant for Hungary – PHOTOS
“The best FINA World Championships ever” said Julio C. Maglione, the president of FINA at the closing ceremony, referring to the past two weeks, which was characterised by outstanding performances from the athletes, teams, organisers, volunteers and fans.
It’s amazing to see how a worldwide sporting event can move people. Everyone becomes a fan, a supporter, even people who otherwise don’t follow sport competitions. Seeing people with red-white-green face paint, flags, wigs and crazy attires just makes you want to cheer even louder. You feel grateful for being part of such a unique atmosphere.
These past two weeks were somewhat reminiscent of last year’s Euro2016 fever, when the Hungarian national football team brought together the whole nation. Still, the 17th FINA World Championships was different. We felt like it was ours. We felt like we all contributed to it in a way.
Hungary has always been successful in water sports, so an event like this meant the apotheosis of our athletes. But the audience enthusiastically celebrated sportspeople from other countries as well. The athletes held everyone spellbound as they stepped onto the starting block and jumped into the water. Water is wonderful, powerful and it connects us.
The venue choices played a major role in creating a fantastic atmosphere. The Danube Arena was the home of the swimming and diving competitions. The organising committee had two years to prepare for the event and to build a world-class, modern arena that could present these disciplines. Even though it might have seemed impossible, they managed to do so. The Danube Arena turned out to be perfect. It had all the necessary facilities, high standard pools and 12,000 seats. You can imagine how the arena exploded from the cheering fans when a Hungarian athlete entered the competition zone.
Moving on to Balatonfüred, the home of the open water swimming competitions. This was the first championship that was hosted by two cities. Balatonfüred has been the home of open water swimming competitions for years, so no one doubted the successful execution. Besides, Lake Balaton is very special for Hungarians, it represents our relationship with water. Hopefully the World Championships was able to attract more attention to the “Hungarian Sea” and its incredible neighbourhood.
The synchronised swimming events were held in the City Park, in a temporary pool, in front of the scenic Vajdahunyad Castle. Several athletes emphasized that they have never competed in such a beautiful environment. It was truly gorgeous and complemented the beauty of synchronised swimming.
The most spectacular events, the high diving competitions were held in a similarly picturesque location. The tower was set up at Batthyány Square, which meant that the background of the dives was the Parliament. Everyone watched the athletes in awe. Again, the location perfectly complemented the mightiness of the discipline. How could anyone top this off?
Last but not least, the Margaret Island and the Hajós Alfréd Complex was the home of the water polo competitions. No other location could’ve been a better choice considering that the complex is the Mecca of water polo. The vibe was amazing there as well. Imagine thousands of people screaming “RIA-RIA-HUNGÁRIA” almost fanatically every day.
It definitely felt like Hungary was able to live up to the expectations. Our athletes finished in the 9th place of the medal table, which is phenomenal considering that only “world powers” came before us. Katinka Hosszú was the N°1 star of the team, she won two gold medals, one silver and one bronze medal. She took the whole collection home.
New stars were born at the World Championships. We must highlight the 17-year-old Kristóf Milák, who stunned everyone with his silver medal in 100 m butterfly. Also, we cannot forget about the living legend, László Cseh, who won a silver medal in 200 m butterfly, which was a very emotional race with his good friend, Chad le Clos. This was László’s 8th world championships, it’s no surprise that journalists struggle to find adjectives to describe his exceptional career.
Dávid Verrasztó returned with a beautiful silver medal on the last day in 400 m medley. The 5th silver medal was won by the Hungarian men’s water polo team, who marched into the final confidently, but couldn’t manage to tackle the Croatian team in the end. Nevertheless, their performance was outstanding throughout the two weeks and they deserved the shining silver medal.
The other bronze medal marks the success of the men’s 4×100 m freestyle relay team. The event was held on the first day of the swimming competitions, nobody could’ve dreamt of a better start.
All in all, based on the feedback, it seems like Hungary fulfilled the challenge and put up a well-organised world championship. People like Éva Szántó, the managing director of Bp2017, and Sándor Balogh, the Finance Director of the FINA Aquatics Championships, did a great job along with the other members of the committee.
We might be biased, but we are honestly thankful that we could be part of the 17th FINA World Championships. It was an amazing experience, which hopefully reached many people around the world. Congratulations to the amazing athletes and everyone who contributed to the event!
Ce: bm
Featured image: MTI
Those beautiful days of Balatonfüred or this is how the World Championships open water swimming went
It has been a few days that the 17th FINA World Championships open water swimming events have been over in Balatonfüred. Many of the competitors have travelled home, others still compete at Duna Arena. Buildings by the lake are emptied out. Those who were at the competition for six days could go home with a lot of unforgettable memories and it is not an exaggeration to say that the audience couldn’t have seen a more up to par open water race than this one, the FINA – Budapest2017 press release said.
This is one of the most prestigious sports events of all times in Hungary, and Lake Balaton also took its share from it between July 15 and 21, where it gave a home to the 17th FINA Worlds Championships open water swimming events. The venue was Balatonfüred, more specifically, the area in front of Tagore. We can say that the event was a huge draw for the audience as for all six days (July 17 was a day of rest) there was a full house. Day by day more than 100 people tried to gain tickets desperately but in vain. They could be consoled with the projector set up at the Kisfaludy stage, where they could watch the events and cheer for their favourites.
Open water swimmers could compete in 5km, 10km and 25 km (both men and women at all distances), and it was the first time that at an adult world championships, medley competitions took place.
Altogether, seven nation’s representatives gained medals, among them the French were outstanding, who could obtain 4 golds, 1 silver and 1 bronze medal, the only event they didn’t manage to stand on the podium was 25km women event.
Despite this, the Team Trophy for the most successful swimmers was won by the Italian, who couldn’t gain any gold medals; however, besides their 2 silvers and 1 bronze, they could obtain so many points, that lead them to the first place.
Among the gold winners were the Americans, Brazilians, and the Dutch (1-1 first place) except this Ecuador gained a silver, Great-Britain and Russia obtained 1-1 silver.
If we should highlight the greatest characters of the World Championships, two French should be put on the top: Aurélie Muller and Marc-Antoine Olivier. The first one for 10 km and medley golds, plus for the 5km silver. The other one for the 5km and medley golds, plus the 10km bronze.
We shouldn’t forget about the experienced Brazilian competitor, Ana Marcela Cunha, who could stand on the podium after all three individual events: after the 5km and 10km bronze, and she also defended her first place in 25km, which she gained in Kazan, too.
Regarding the Hungarian performance, the secret dream of the home crowd was 1 medal, which wasn’t achieved; however, Gábor Gellért head coach evaluated what he saw positively.
‘I have a small discomfort in me because of the lack of the medal, but I can’t be dissatisfied as we have never participated in a world championships with such a populous team. Altogether we had 8 competitors – said the expert. It is also a fact that we are over one of the most successful world championships with two fifths places, one sixth place, two seventh places and one eighth place. There are the emerging young talents too, who didn’t cause disappointment.’
To be able to organise competitions on such a high level, we needed the previous years’ experiences, World and European Cup races, and the Junior World Championships, as the line of the lane was given, only little modifications were needed.
‘Feedback from the Hungarian sportsmen, coaches and leaders are definitely positive, many of them evaluated the organisation with grade 5 – said Szabolcs Fodor competition director. The truth is that we raised the bar too high, so it will be almost impossible to outdo it. I have been to many competition venues before, and I can say that this is one of the bests.
Fodor added that the weather was kind to the participants too, as before and after the World Championships there were storms at Balatonfüred, on the days of the competitions there was no problem with the weather and the temperature of the water was ideal, between 22 and 25 degrees.
There were some innovations compared to the previous world events. For example, the jacuzzi, against which the participants had a kick, then it became more and more popular among them.
Péter Kővári added his own bit greatly to the success of the organisation: the venue manager of the open water swimming events worked day and night with his colleagues to set everything into its place.
‘A lot of people put his work and effort into this World Championships, both by water and by land – said Kővári. I have heard from many places that practically a new event has been born at Balatonfüred, as never ever before could anyone follow the events so well as here. We built the viewing area appropriate for 2500 people into the water. We put 3 led lines into the lake opposite from the audience so that they can orientate themselves about the events. Building started at the beginning of June and the breakdown will finish after the Masters World Championships, in the second half of August.’
‘It’s a proof again that Balatonfüred is a perfect venue and host for the open water swimming competition – summed it up Eszter Rudas event manager, who led the preparations for long months before and commanded the competition period, connecting the most differing areas. The experienced organising team from previous years, completed with the experts from different fields and the enthusiastic, smart and helpful volunteers did everything they could so that the participating teams, the representatives of the FINA, plus the fantastic fans could go home with unforgettable memories. I hope that participants of the Masters World Championships will compete in a similarly great atmosphere and will be happy to return, even as a tourist.’
About the Balatonfüred competitions more than a hundred journalists, photographers, TV and radio operators broadcasted daily. They left Lake Balaton with positive memories, too.
I have been talking to many experienced colleagues who have been dealing with water sports for decades and they have been amazed as well seeing the circumstances. It’s not an everyday scenario that while making a report, you can see the Tihany Abbey in its full beauty in the background – said Tamás Ambrus, the press manager of the open water swimming events. We placed the media centre into the tarnished Kisfaludy Gallery; however, there was a media office at the lake as well in a container, where representatives of the media could gain information immediately. After Füred I could meet many of these people at Duna Arena and they said when they think back to their days at Lake Balaton, it’s an unbelievably good feeling.
The 17th FINA World Championships open water swimming medallists
Women:
5 km: 1. Ashley Twichell (American), 2. Aurélie Muller (French), 3. Ana Marcela Cunha (Brazilian),…27. Janka Juhász (Hungarian), 28. Melinda Novoszáth (Hungarian)
10 km: 1. Aurélie Muller, 2. Samantha Arévalo (), 3. Ana Marcela Cunha and Arianna Bridi (Italian),…8. Anna Olasz (Hungarian),…27. Sömenek Onon Kata (Hungarian)
25 km: 1. Ana Marcela Cunha, 2. Sharon van Rouwendaal (Dutch), 3. Arianna Bridi,…5. Anna Olasz (Hungarian),…12. Kata Sömenek Onon (Hungarian)
Men:
5 km: 1. Marc-Antoine Olivier (French), 2. Mario Sanzullo (Italian), 3. Timothy Shuttleworth (British),…7. Kristóf Rasovszky (Hungarian) …31. Márk Papp (Hungarian)
10 km: 1. Ferry Weertman (Dutch), 2. Jordan Wilimovsky (American), 3. Marc-Antoine Olivier (French) … 5. Kristóf Rasovszky,…21. Dániel Székelyi
25 km: 1. Axel Reymond (French), 2. Matteo Furlan (Italian), 3. Jevgenyij Draccel (Russian),…6. Gyurta Gergely (Hungarian). Kristóf Rasovszky gave up the competition.
Medley: 1. France 2. USA 3. Italy … 7. Hungary
Medal table
1.France (4 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
2.USA (1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)
3.The Netherlands (1 gold, 1 silver)
4.Brazil (1 gold, 2 bronze)
5.Italy (2 silver, 3 bronze)
6. Ecuador (1 silver)
7. Great Britain and Russia (1-1 bronze)
Photo: MTI
FINA Aquatics Budapest: Almost half a million spectators at five venues
Almost half a million, 485 thousand spectators viewed the events of the World Aquatic Championships at five venues in Budapest and Balatonfüred, Minister for National Development Miklós Seszták, President of the Organising Committee of the World Championships which finished on Sunday said at a press conference held on Monday in the Duna Arena, government’s press release said.
The Minister for National Development highlighted: more than 400 thousand visitors attended the supporter zones set up on Margitsziget (Margaret Island) and next to the Duna Arena. The venue on the island reached its full capacity in terms of spectators five times in two weeks, and during the men’s water polo final between Hungary and Croatia held on Saturday, not only the MAC sports field, but also the entire Margitsziget area had to be closed down.
“A great many foreigners supported their athletes at the venues, tickets were sold in the hundreds of thousands, primarily to Brits, Germans, French and Americans”, Mr Seszták said.
Mr Seszták cited the hotels in Budapest were fully booked, the average occupancy rate was in excess of 90 per cent during the two weeks of the World Championships, and meanwhile the average prices of rooms increased by 200 per cent.
“Two thirds of the guests specifically came to see the World Championships during this period, and they stayed four times longer than the average stay, for more than nine days”, Mr Seszták said who highlighted regarding the survey that on a scale of one to ten, the satisfaction indicator was 8.73, the sense of security averaged 8.84, and 66 per cent of foreign guests are planning to come back to Hungary.
The Minister for National Development drew attention to the World Masters Championships to begin on 7 August to which 11,711 attendees have been accredited, including 9,378 athletes, with a contingent of 6,501 swimmers, and 125 teams enrolled for the water polo tournament.
From among the members of the Organising Committee, Minister of Human Capacities Zoltán Balog was especially proud of the opening ceremony where „culture and sports met”.
“More than five hundred dancers featured in the production who delivered the highest standards in terms of coordination and choreography, but I should also make mention of the light and sound technologies, and I believe that few countries are capable of something like this”, Mr Balog said. He added: Budapest will host the World Junior Synchronised Swimming Championships next year and the World Junior Swimming Championships in 2019. The European championships of swimming, water polo, synchronised swimming and diving will be held in the Duna Arena in 2020 which will be followed by the World Short Course Swimming Championships in 2024.
Mayor of Budapest István Tarlós highlighted: „as a born Budapest resident, it makes me especially delighted that the delegations of more than 180 countries felt at home in our capital city”. According to Mr Tarlós, the World Championships took the reputation of Budapest and Hungary to almost every corner of the world: „thanks to the superb standard of the broadcasts, we showed the world our most beautiful features, just as we would have liked”.
Balázs Fürjes, Government Commissioner for Priority Budapest Projects highlighted that 11 new official world records were achieved in the Duna Arena.
“Not including the times when people wore shark suits, this many world records had never been achieved in the year after the Olympic Games in the history of the World Championships”, he stressed. Mr Fürjes said: this is greatly attributable to the conscious Hungarian planning which was based on the study of a London firm „as in the case of a fast pool, the depth of the water, the technology of water surface tension and the flow of the water play a major part”. According to Mr Fürjes, the Hungarian nation was forged together by the World Aquatic Championships which „we did not organise merely for the sake of the World Championships, but beyond that in view of the decades to come”.
As we wrote before, the president of the international swimming federation (FINA) called the 2017 World Aquatics Championships organised in Budapest and Balatonfüred the best championships in FINA’s history.
Photo: MTI, Gyula Bartos/Ministry of Human Capacities