Hungary House Makes Olympic Debut

(ATR) The first ever Hungary House hopes to bring in the Olympic Family to see the dream of Budapest 2024.

Hungary House opened its doors yesterday at the Brazilian Jockey Club, near the lagoa stadium. It was opened by Hungarian President János Áder, Hungarian Olympic Committee president Zsolt Borkai, and Budapest 2024 bid chairman Balázs Fürjes.

The theme for the house is water, and highlights the country’s natural beauty. A continuous fountain greets visitors at the entrance, and they can go to a "water bar," sampling mineral water from all over the country. Exhibitions show off the Budapest 2024 bid, every single Hungarian medal winner, and cultural events the country is hosting in 2024.

Budapest is one of four cities shortlisted for the 2024 Olympic Games. The city is joined by Los Angeles, Paris, and Rome.

"We created a home away from home for our fans and for our supporters here at Hungary House so this is a true representation of our DNA which is sport DNA,"Lazlo Vajda, Budapest 2024 Secretary General, said to Around the Rings. "We plan to invite as many Olympic family members here as possible. We are talking about the exposure of Hungary, not only the sports heritage but also the cuisine and wine. At the end of the Games I would love to see this house delivering success through lots and lots of fun and visits."

An outdoor space has been set up for Hungarian media to work and fans can cheer on Hungarian athletes during Rio 2016. The Budapest 2024 bid zone remains in accordance with IOC rules, as the house is operated by the HOC, not the bid. Although Vajda said it would be naïve to think that Budapest 2024 was not using the Rio Games as an opportunity to engage people with the bid.

"We believe that in the new framework our size, our infrastructure and our setting would perfectly fit the philosophy that the IOC is planning," Vajda said. "We are here in Rio to convert the success to the HOC. We are very vigilant about challenges and things that the Brazilians will definitely do very well and we will transport all that knowledge and experience into our Games plan."

For Budapest 2024 the key idea that needs promoting is that the bid is not a city’s bid, but rather one of the whole country. Hungarian leaders say that over 90 percent of the population will be within 90 minutes of an Olympic venue. This will give unprecedented access of the Hungarian people to a potential upcoming Olympic Games.

With the 2017 IOC Session 13 months away, Vajda said that the biggest thing Budapest 2024 must do is continue to "get busy." The bid has a limited amount of time to convince a majority of 99 IOC members to put Budapest on the Olympic map. The bid says that most of the necessary construction for the bid is currently under construction or planned whether or not the city wins the Games.

"Our government has a very unique and strong sports agenda regardless of the Games," Vajda said. "I think this is already a sign that we are determined, and the Games is an amazing catalyst for all this. We believe our determination will bring Hungary forward in a very strong way."

Written by Aaron Bauer in Rio de Janeiro

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