World Sailing Chief Backs Budapest 2024's Lake Balaton as the Perfect Olympic Venue

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 01 December 2016

Budapest’s "innovative" plan for sailing at the 2024 Olympic Games will

set new standards in allowing spectators to get up close and personal

with the sport.

That is the ringing endorsement of the Budapest 2024 bid made by

Alastair Fox, the Director of Events for World Sailing, after visiting

Hungary to inspect the proposed facilities.

The sailing events will be held at the popular tourist resort of Lake

Balaton, less than an hour and a half’s drive from the centre of

Budapest and accessible by modern highways of at least four lanes.

And according to Mr Fox, the ability to use an inland lake setting, rather

than open sea as in previous Games, will bring a whole new dimension

to the way the sport can be showcased.

He said: "In Balaton there is a unique opportunity to be innovative and

to get more people on the water to enjoy watching sailing.

"The conditions of open sea with wind and tides normally make it hard

from a spectator point of view, but the calmer waters of an inland lake

mean you can get people right in the middle of the action.

"It’s something we would want to really explore and encourage with the

Budapest team if their bid to get the Games is successful."

Sailing currently has ten events in the Olympic schedule covering ten

days of action.

Lake Balaton, as the largest lake in central Europe and one of the

region’s most popular tourist attractions, already has the hotel and

accommodation infrastructure to handle major events. The majority of

hotels in the Lake Balaton region has agreed to provide accommodation

for a Budapest Games in 2024.

Following Mr Fox’s visit, the Budapest 2024 bid team will be working

with World Sailing to create further innovative ideas to enhance the

spectator experience.

Attila Mizsér, Director of Sports for Budapest 2024, said: "A key part of

our strategy has been to meet with leaders of International Federations

for Olympic sports to best understand how we can put the athletes at

the centre of the Games and provide the best possible facilities to

ensure we continue to surpass the demands of world-class competition."

Enabled by the unique geography of Balaton and the collaboration

between the venues team and World Sailing, the plan is to develop a

water-based "stadium" environment, with spectator access to the

medals course and the finish line in a way that is not normally

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achievable at a sailing event.

Ideas under discussion include using barges which are already based on

the lake, as well as making provision for other spectator boats to be

stationed safely around the courses.

Mr Fox added: "We have always aimed for a very strong legacy from

Olympic events, and the plans for Budapest would fit within that ideal.

"The events and the infrastructure they are looking to develop would

create a facility that would leave a long-lasting legacy in a very

significant area of Central Europe.

"One of our key messages is that sailing is an inclusive activity that is

an affordable sport for all. Holding the Games events in Balaton would

inevitably provide opportunities for huge numbers both to watch and to

then get involved in the sport themselves."

Budapest 2024 describes its master plan as a "real alternative" to the

larger capitals and mega cities that have hosted the Summer Olympic

Games in recent times. The initiative to create an unprecedentedly

intimate sailing event at Lake Balaton is one of many new opportunities

offered by Budapest’s mid-sized city and Hungary’s naturally accessible

geography, opportunities that are not possible in settings with a wider

urban spread.

- Named as European Capital of Sport 2019, Budapest is a high-value

city, with an excellent transport infrastructure and a long-term

sustainable development plan. The Budapest 2024 Olympic Bid proposes

a compact and intimate Games footprint in the capital, and a truly

nationwide Games that features sport in six other Olympic cities.

Budapest 2024 is dedicated to deliver an on-budget and inclusive

Olympic and Paralympic Games in one of the top 20 most peaceful

countries in the world. Sports-mad Hungary was one of the founding

members of the IOC and has participated in the Games since 1896.

Hungary is the only country ranked in the top ten of the all-time

Olympic Medal table that has not yet hosted the Olympic Games.

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