(ATR) Budapest 2024 bid leaders say Hungary’s expertise in hosting parasport events will improve the athlete experience if Budapest is awarded the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.
"Hungary is a popular choice for parasport championships and World Cups, and continues to grow its talent pool, experience and feedback from the people to whom accessibility matters the most with every new event," Budapest 2024 vice chairman Gusztáv Bienerth tells Around the Rings.
The country hosted six major parasport events in 2015 including the Wheelchair Fencing World Championship, Powerlifting European Open Championship and the Judo World Cup organized by the International Blind Sports Association (IBSA).
Moving forward, Hungary will host the International Sitting Volleyball Tournament, Goalball World Championship, Powerlifting World Cup and the Wheelchair Fencing World Cup. Bienerth says the city’s accessibility initiatives already in place make it possible to host these events.
"Budapest received a special mention in the UN Access City Awards last year for its efforts in infrastructure and transport accessibility, and we hope to build on the success of these great city initiatives," he says, adding that the city will have a fully accessible bus fleet by 2018.
The bid team is also using the experience gained from the Rio 2016 Paralympics observer program where eight bid leaders learned what it takes to stage the Paralympics.
"Naturally, the athlete experience was at the top of our list – gaining the deepest understanding possible of what athletes need to give the performance of their lifetime – and that quest continues within the sport federation visits that are currently taking place in Budapest," says Bienerth.
Bienerth says the bid team was also impressed with the Paralympic opening ceremony despite the budget cuts the Rio 2016 organizers had to deal with.
"This shows that it is possible to create moving effect while managing a sensible budget," he says. "It became clear to our observer team that the ceremony can create a spirit and momentum that lasts for the entirety of the Games, penetrating the atmosphere of every venue and the heart of every athlete and spectator.
"It also has a profound influence on the thinking of people around the globe, and prompts us to examine the meaning of disability and ability."
Eliminating the differences between abilities and disabilities is especially important in Hungary given that 25 percent of the population aged 15 and over report having impairments, according to Bienerth.
"This represents a very high proportion of our nation that could benefit personally from a home-hosted Games," Bienerth says. "This could be directly, by taking up a new sport for example, or indirectly, as a result of improved transport and event access.
"Budapest 2024 represents a genuine opportunity to revitalize the way we think about parasport across all of Hungary. It is a chance for a genuine, lasting sport legacy. Better inclusion, diversity and accessible innovations will create new opportunities for parasport athletes and spectators as well as opening up parasport to a wider fan base."
Budapest looks to the London 2012 Paralympics as a shining example of how to initiate social change through the Games and inspire young athletes to achieve their dreams.
"[Great Britain’s] Paralympic team has done extraordinarily well in Rio, thanks to better training facilities and public interest as a result of hosting the Paralympics in 2012," he says. "A similar sustained groundswell of support from the public and media, still strong four years on, is what we would be aiming for at a Budapest Games.
"But the potential is bigger than Budapest and bigger even than Hungary. Budapest also represents an opportunity to inspire parasport and parasport support across the Central and Eastern European region."
Written by Kevin Nutley
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