According to Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., vice-president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Budapest and Hungary would "certainly" be able to host the summer games in 2036 or later, but there will be a lot of interest in the next event that can be bid for, so the Hungarian capital will have a serious fight. you have to prepare.

The 64-year-old sports leader gave a presentation on Tuesday at the international conference of sports leaders organized on the occasion of the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union, after which he said in an interview with MTI that it is currently an extremely complex task to apply to host the Olympics.

"You need a good application material, and then you need a very good team, which is available here, as there are excellent professionals in Hungary, who also have enormous experience in organizing international sports events. In addition to all this, success also requires that the applicant country and city seize the best opportunity for it and have some luck," said Samaranch, who mentioned an example he experienced himself. He said that they applied three times in a row with Madrid, but none of them were successful, then they did not try again, and finally the IOC awarded the next three Olympics to Paris, Los Angeles, and Brisbane without competition.

"Currently, no official interest has been received from Budapest, and since the hosting rights are allocated until 2034, it would be possible to start for 2036 first. I know the Hungarian capital and the country well, which I must say is one of the most important cities and countries in terms of world sports, but without a doubt in Europe. Here, the experience in organizing major world events is enormous, as well as the passion and competence for this, so I would not be at all surprised if an official request from Hungary to the IOC arrives soon," said the vice-president of the International Pentathlon Federation (UIPM). Samaranch. He emphasized that all international sports federations must now take Hungary's hosting plan very seriously, no matter what sport it is.

"Budapest and the country have everything at their disposal to host an Olympics and certainly could host the event, but they will have to prepare for a very serious fight if they decide to compete for one of the summer games"

he declared.

Regarding the changes taking place in the pentathlon - the replacement of horse riding with the obstacle race - the Spanish sports leader said that without it, the pentathlon would not have remained in the pentathlon program for a longer period of time, but also in a shorter period, and in fact, it would have immediately disappeared from world sports.

"We implemented the best solution at the right time, and at the congress in November, we will have the task of introducing the steeplechase into the numbers in a sporting and attractive way, because this is the only way we can ensure the Olympic future of the sport. As everywhere else in life, the devil is in the details, but I am sure that, although it is difficult, we have taken an extremely necessary step in the right direction," he said.

Regarding this year's Paris Olympics and Paralympics, Samaranch believed that it was extremely important to restore the Olympic movement to its rightful place after the very difficult Tokyo Games due to the coronavirus epidemic and the challenging Rio Games due to economic conditions. He said that they owe a lot of thanks to the French organizers for the summer events, and with regard to the sports that have just been introduced, he emphasized that their presence is also important because the Olympics must remain relevant for the younger generations as well.

"Urban sports will remain in the program, but I don't think they will replace traditional sports, since one of the main goals is to have a place for all sports at the Games," he emphasized.

The son of the former IOC president is one of the seven candidates who will compete for the post of IOC president in the spring. He stated that he definitely wants to keep the universality of Olympism, because it is one of the means by which the youth of the world can be brought together.

“There are currently more than 55 war conflicts going on around the world, but not just the ones we read about in the newspapers. These involve drama, suffering, and a large number of refugees, so it is critical that we maintain the universality we have already represented. If we do this, we will be able to show that athletes from different parts of the world can indeed live side by side in peace, while on the field they can fight against each other by following the jointly established and accepted rules," he said. He added: "in the age of conflicts and contradictions, our task is to give hope that there is much more in our lives that brings us together than what separates us from each other."

He mentioned that the IOC should keep up with technological development, which in his view controls the world to a large extent, as well as making the Olympic Games interesting, exciting and relevant for the younger generations.

"It is not the games as an event that is important in itself, but we should see it as a means of communication through which we can convey the Olympic values," said junior Juan Antonio Samaranch.

MTI

Featured image: Spanish financial analyst Juan Antonio Samaranch Salisachs, vice president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), gives an interview to an MTI employee in the Várkert bazaar on September 24, 2024 (Photo: MTI/Szilárd Koszticsák)