The 41st YONEX Hungarian International Badminton Championships last week gave the Budapest 2024 bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games a boost. About 196 players from 30 countries took part in the tournament which was upgraded to “International Challenge” status to offer more world ranking points and three times the level of prize money.
Organizers of the event offered free admission to allow more spectators to experience the high-energy sport live.
Officials from the International Badminton Federation reportedly gave the tournament a ringing endorsement on the world-class facilities and organization that set a new benchmark in the 41-year history of the tournament.
Thomas Lund, the General Secretary of the International Badminton Federation said, “Budapest has shown convincing reasons why the city can offer an outstanding experience in the 2024 Games.”
He added, “the International Badminton Federation are seeking supporters of the Agenda 2020 program because even the Olympics as the world’s biggest sporting event must evolve and change.
“What we saw at Budapest was an important milestone in the European competitions, and it was good news that it had a higher level of competition which will improve even further in the future”.
The Nepliget Arena, where the badminton competition would be played during the first 10 days of he Games, is due to be developed whether or not the city wins the bid. The site will be near the Hungarian Grand Prix street circuit, five km from the Olympic Village in the heart of the city, and will have a travel time for athletes of just nine minutes.
The site is an example of what Budapest 2024 calls the unique design concept of the bid, with seven clusters of venues all within a seven km radius of the city centre, and the entire Games within a ten kilometer radius of the Olympic Village.
Budapest 2024, along with its bid rivals, will be traveling to Doha, Qatar this month to deliver a key presentation to members of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC).
Budapest is bidding for the 2024 Games against Los Angeles and Paris. The host city will be elected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) September 17 in Lima, Peru.
