Above the city and overlooking the Danube River the Budapest 2024 Olympic bid Thursday released its brand identity featuring a new logo, Website and bid film.
The logo, first revealed on Gellert Hill evokes imagery of the Danube along with the Olympic colours and rings. It was designed by Budapest’s Graphasel Design Studio and chosen from among almost 200 other entrants in a city-wide competition.
The logo, which includes references to the Danube River, the Hungarian flag and Liberty Statue along with the Olympic rings, was designed by Budapest’s Graphasel Design Studio and chosen from among nearly 200 entries across the city.
In attendance at a small ceremony commemorating the occasion were Budapest Mayor Istvan Tarlos, Hungarian Olympic Committee chairman Zsolt Borkai, Bid Chair Balazs Furjes and representatives of the design firm.
Below, in the Hungarian capital, citizens are being treated with a “Hello Budapest 2024!” sport festival featuring demonstrations and a chance to try various Olympic sports – and a concert and party to end the day at Erzsébet Square.
Budapest is the last of the 2024 bid cities to release it’s visual identity following Rome’s launch in December and Paris and Los Angeles ceremonies in February ahead of the submission of the initial bid documents. Phase 1 of Budapest’s bid books was handed over with generic branding.
The new Website located at Budapest2024.com has a design that promises an interactive experience along with information about the project. Along with the its existing Facebook page the bid has added an Instagram account and YouTube channel.
Budapest 2024 Website
The launch Thursday is the culmination of a recent ramp-up period for the bid that had lagged behind its rivals in the early stages of the campaign. Lagardère Sports and agency Event Knowledge Services (EKS) were recently appointed to lead the bid in many aspects and the logo design competition was launched early in the year.
Budapest will still likely be seen as an outsider in the race that is being hotly contested by experienced bidders that have previously hosted. Both Paris and Rome have recently bid multiple times, and Los Angeles is the third in a recent series of of bids from the United States. The Hungarian capital last bid for the 1960 Games and has yet to host the quadrennial event.
The bid cities are expected to attend the SportAccord convention to be held in Lausanne next week before the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Evaluation Commission issues a preliminary evaluation report to the Executive Board next month. The new interactive bid process will allow the campaigns to attend workshops with the IOC to help improve their plans based on the mid-term reports.
The IOC will elect the host city September 2017 in Lima, Peru.
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A senior producer and award-winning journalist covering Olympic bid business as founder of GamesBids.com as well as providing freelance support for print and Web publications around the world. Robert Livingstone is a member of the Olympic Journalists Association and the International Society of Olympic Historians.
