Hungarian PM Believes Budapest 2024 Could 'Put The Region On The Map'

Hungarian PM Viktor Orban said that a successful Budapest bid for the hosting of the 2024 Olympic Games would be "a victory for the entire Central and Eastern Europe region," according to Simon Evans of REUTERS. Orban and IOC President Thomas Bach were "attending a celebration of the 120th anniversary of the founding of the Hungarian Olympic Committee." The "Hungarian capital is competing" with Paris, Rome and L.A. Orban said, "Selecting Budapest would not only be a new city and country for the Olympic Games, but put the region on the map. We want to organize the first Central Eastern Europe Olympics." The 1980 Olympics in Moscow was "the only time the Summer Games were held in Eastern Europe." Orban said that Hungary and the region "were ready to take on the challenge of hosting the world's biggest sporting event." Orban: "2024 will be 35 years after we shook off the shackles of oppression and celebrated our freedom" (REUTERS, 12/15).