Hungary "is plying Olympic authorities with visions of a 2024 games played out from the elegant Danubian capital Budapest to the shores of Lake Balaton, eschewing the extravagance of recent years in a turn to a more modest global sporting celebration," according to Marton Dunai of REUTERS.
Hungary "is wagering its offer of a more frugal summer games" than those that might be offered by richer rivals L.A., Paris and Rome will "better reflect" the spirit of the IOC's Agenda 2020.
A return to more modest, functional facilities, less lavish ceremonies, "could break the hold of bigger cities like, this year, Rio De Janeiro, which with its economic and political troubles has highlighted the hazards of hosting."
Balazs Furjes, the Hungarian government's commissioner for the Games, said, "The IOC returns to its roots. Antwerp, Stockholm, or Helsinki once hosted very successful Olympics; each is smaller than Budapest. The IOC wants to make that possible again."
The 2024 Games "will be the first time that principle is put into practice, and the IOC hopes 11-digit price tags for facilities that would go largely unused after the Games will become a thing of the past." The bid "has had limited international visibility, with little social media presence." Moreover, Rio and its political and social turmoil "could work against Budapest." Several people involved with the bid said that "the likelihood of coming up short, however, does not deter Hungarians." Budapest Olympics Movement Founder Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy said, "Winning the games for a first time bidder is always a huge challenge, but you can only win the Games if you entered the race. The whole process can be up to 10-20 years long. We saw that in London, where the games were won by Tony Blair but the closing ceremony was done by David Cameron" (REUTERS, 4/15).
