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(Sports Focus)Hungary withdraws its candidacy from the 2024 Olympic Games

Xinhua, February 23, 2017 Adjust font size:

The Hungarian government announced a decision Wednesday evening on a proposal to withdraw the candidacy from the 2024 Olympic Games in Budapest, addressed to both the Budapest City Hall and the National Olympic Committee, according to the Hungarian news agency MTI.

"The Olympic Games are a national cause for Budapest and Hungary. According to our experience, unity is necessary to represent national causes. This unity between the leaders of the country and the parties was real at the time of the presentation of the bid, reflected in the decisions of the Budapest City Hall by a majority of 92%, and of the Parliament by a majority of 80%," the resolution of the government said.

This unity has been disintegrated in the last months, for which the opposition parties are to blame, according to the Hungarian government. The national cause of the Olympic Games became a political party affair, for which the opposition parties are liable, who turned their backs on the former decision, the government added.

As the necessary unity in Budapest has been lost, the bid of Budapest lost all of its chances,the government said.

"In such a context, the only responsible decision is that if the city of Budapest and the National Olympic Committee do not maintain their bid. That is why the government of Hungary proposes to withdraw the candidacy from the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic games in Budapest, addressed to both the Budapest City Hall and the National Olympic Committee," the government said.

The Mayor of Budapest Istvan Tarlos said that the leadership of Budapest would suggest to the Budapest City Hall to revoke the Hungarian bid, in accordance with the government.

The decision was announced after a meeting between the Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the Mayor of Budapest Istvan Tarlos and the President of the National Olympic Committee Zsolt Borkai on Wednesday evening.

The leadership of the National Olympic Committee also acknowledged the decision, which will be formally presented in the Budapest City Hall next week, Tarlos added.

"The government, the leadership of the capital, the presidency of Fidesz and the Fidesz parliamentary group proposes the withdrawal of the candidacy to both the Hungarian Olympic Committee and to the City Hall," Lajos Kosa, leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group told MTI.

"The government that lies by calling himself national just ignored the will of 266 thousand people and ran away cowardly (from the referendum)," Andras Fekete-Gyor, the leader of Momentum Movement said at a conference in Budapest, following the dropping of the bid.

"The people should have been asked two years ago exactly to avoid such a situation," he added.

Momentum is the organization that handed over the signatures necessary for its referendum on blocking the hosting of the 2024 Olympic Games in Budapest to the Budapest Election Office last Friday. The campaign of Momentum, named "NOlimpia", was initiated a month ago, based on fear of overspending and corruption. Momentum wants the Hungarian government to spend the money on the Hungarian education and healthcare system. Endit