In Budapest, the jig is up. The Hungarian capital has pulled out of the race for the 2024 Summer Games. Paris and Los Angeles are the only two candidates left in the running.
The decision was made jointly by Prime Minister Orban and the city’s Mayor, Tarlos.
The youth movement Movienton Magzaton collected 266,151 signatures (138 thousand required by the regulations) to subject the candidacy to a popular referendum.
Faced with the likelihood of a setback, the authorities threw in the towel.
Budapest joins Hamburg and Rome in the sweep-up vehicle.
Balazs Furjes, the president of Budapest 2024, broke his silence: “The ship has sailed, the unity has flown away.”
Having been at the head of the Hungarian Olympic project since day one, Balazs Furjes understood that the success of the anti-Games petition, and perhaps even more so the collapse of the political consensus created around the candidacy, obliterated the chances of the Hungarian capital.
The president of Budapest 2024 continues: “The Hungarian Olympic family, the capital, the Parliament, and the government, all stakeholders had made joint decisions. But this unity is lost.”
Presented from the starting signal as the underdog of the competition, Budapest 2024 was credited with little chance of being selected.
