Budapest’s Olympic Bid team have opened a unique interactive Visitors’ Centre that will perfectly showcase the originality and world-class thinking of the city’s plan to host the 2024 Games.
The complex is housed on a 700-square-metre barge on the River Danube, the waterway that will form an innovative "Olympic Blue lane" to take athletes and officials between the venues.
The Mayor of Budapest István Tarlós, together with Chairman of the Budapest 2024 Bid, Balázs Fürjes, and Chair of the Budapest Athletes’ Commission, Agnés Kovács, officially opened the site this week.
The Visitors’ Centre is situated opposite the Parliament building and next to the popular tourist spot of Batthyány Square. It will be open to the public from 11am - 7pm for six days a week (closed Monday) with free admission.
Two separate pavilions, each 200 square metres, will introduce around 10,000 visitors in the next 12 months to the reasons why Budapest have such a strong case to become the first central European city to host the Olympics.
The first pavilion showcases the FINA Championship 2017, proving how the city is already capable of delivering a world-class sport event – while the second explains the creativity and confidence of the Budapest Bid.
The common space that joins them is also the arrival area where visitors disembark from the tourist boats at the foot of a giant model of the Budapest 2024 Bid logo.
Bid Chairman Balázs Fürjes said: "The FINA Championships are really important to us, not just because Hungary is strong in swimming, but because we are also strong in hosting international sporting events.
"It shows our ability to deliver a world-class sporting venue on time and under budget, especially as we stepped in after Mexico's withdrawal.
"In fact we have developed a first world record in swimming on dry land due to our fast delivery of venue design and build.
"We look forward to hosting the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) in Györ, also in summer 2017. The size of these games is equal to one and a half times that of the Winter Olympics."
The Budapest pavilion showcases the master plan for the Games, focusing on the accessibility and proximity of the venue for an event in which 90% of the population of Hungary would travel for 90 minutes or less to arrive in the city.
Sustainability and legacy plans are also exhibited to explain the benefits for both the nation and the region.
Meanwhile, in the FINA exhibition, visitors will be greeted by virtual athletes Tamás Kenderesi and Boglárka Kapás - both bronze medal winners in swimming at the recent Olympic Games in Rio. Visitors can also play a specially created watersport game that is similar in design to Fussball.
The high-tech 21st century presentation of the Budapest Aquatic Centre will include a virtual reality tour using VR headsets.
Budapest’s Mayor István Tarlós underlined the detailed planning behind the FINA and EYOF events, saying: "It’s great to be working together with the bid team and the city authorities to deliver a new facility to promote the dynamism and ambition of Budapest."
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