With a ceremonial park opening, entertainment programs, running competitions and various sports activities, the National Athletic Center and Leisure Park was officially opened in Budapest on Saturday morning, which will be the site of the World Outdoor Athletics Championships between August 19 and 27. 15,000 people attended the opening.
Ádám Schmidt, the state secretary responsible for sports and the government commissioner for the World Cup, emphasized: a few years ago, it was difficult to imagine that the largest and most modern sports facility in Central and Eastern Europe would be built on the site of a polluted industrial area.
"The Queen of Sports Receives Her Crown"
- stated the state secretary, and then thanked the designer Marcel Ferencz, the implementing consortium and the workers involved in the implementation.
He reminded that 2,000 competitors from more than 200 countries entered the August World Championship, and 100,000 fans from 100 countries will come. He encouraged the Hungarian people to take possession of the 10.5-hectare sports park and play sports as much as possible.
Balázs Németh, the CEO of Budapest 2023 Nonprofit Zrt., which organizes the World Cup, said that they deliberately did not want to organize a traditional, "handover in a suit", but a full-day festival for families and amateur athletes.
He added: on Saturday, running competitions were organized at 100 meters and 2.3 and 4.5 kilometers on the Mondo-covered track, on which the world stars will also compete. Those who took part in these events can buy tickets for the World Cup with a 50 percent discount, which will be the biggest sporting event in the world this year and has never been similar in Hungary's history.
Miklós Gyulai, the president of the Hungarian Athletics Federation, emphasized that the 125-year-old Hungarian athletics found a worthy home in what he considered to be the most beautiful stadium in the world, which was specially designed for athletes. The president is confident that as many Hungarian competitors as possible will be able to qualify for the World Championships in Budapest, and that excellent athletes will be trained at the National Athletics Center.
15 thousand participants
According to the organizers, 15,000 people participated in the opening programs. More than five thousand entered the running races, which ran over different distances in the area of the leisure park, and the finish line was on the stadium's race track. Two thousand people were also curious about the special building and were able to get to know the new athletics facility on organized tours.
At the end of the opening ceremony, Péter Schriffert, the project manager of the construction consortium, symbolically handed over the facility to Ádám Schmidt, who handed it over to Balázs Baji, a former World Cup bronze medalist hurdler, and Boglárka Takács, the national record holder in the women's 100 and 200 meters. The latter thanked the brand new athletics center on behalf of the competitors and sports fans and asked the Hungarian sports fans that as many people as possible will support them on site at the World Cup.
MTI
Featured image: ZSIGMOND LASZLO HUNGARY / AIPS
