According to Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Budapest and Hungary can be proud of hosting the second stop in the Olympic qualification series for city sports.
At the media conference early on Thursday evening at the Ludovika Campus, the head of the IOC named two reasons for including the sports involved in the five-ring program. On the one hand, the roots of the sport can be linked to the cities, and they wanted to bring the sport close to the people and not wait for the people to go to the place where the sports events are organized. On the other hand, these sports - the BMX freestyle park, skateboarding, sport climbing and breakdancing - are themselves young, innovative and attractive to young people compared to traditional sports.

As he said, this qualifying series - even though it is not over yet - can be considered a success.

"Hungarian sports culture is a representative of European sports traditions, it differs from Shanghai's urban culture, the combination of the two makes this series really interesting. This is something really new," he emphasized.

When asked, Bach also touched on the significant number of international sports events that the Hungarian capital has hosted in recent years. As he said, Hungary also entered into the organization of the Olympic qualifiers for urban sports with great enthusiasm.

"Hungary and Budapest can be very proud of this arrangement!" he said. He noted that many young people visited the event on Thursday.

The Hungarian Olympic Committee informed the MTI that at the qualifiers on Thursday, more than six hundred students and their teachers were expected with a whole day of activities in the framework of the Olympic Values ​​Education Program (OVEP), which is an education and training program that is organized by various channels, but primarily through public education.

MTI

Cover photo: Britain's Sky Brown in the qualifiers of the park competition for women's skateboarders, the second stage of the Olympic qualification for city sports, in Orczy Garden in Budapest on June 20, 2024.
MTI/Zoltán Balogh