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Budapest officially withdraws bid for 2024 Olympic Games

Xinhua, March 1, 2017 Adjust font size:

Hungary's capital Budapest officially withdrew its candidacy for the hosting of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, following a decision adopted by the extraordinary meeting of the City Hall of the capital here on Wednesday.

The resolution, signed by the Mayor Istvan Tarlos and his deputy Gabor Bagdy, initiates to annul the former resolution of the City Hall adopted on the 23rd of June 2015, and "to revoke, together with the National Olympic Committee, the candidacy to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The resolution, which was adopted by 22 votes to 6, also calls upon Tarlos to notify, jointly with the National Olympic Committee the International Olympic Committee, of the present decision.

Furthermore, the resolution asks the Mayor to start negotiations with the government about the realization of the developments regarding the 2024 Olympic Games that would have to be carried out regardless of the success of the bid.

The resolution recalls that the candidacy has been dropped due to an "irreversible lack of unity," and that a "bid for the Olympic Games cannot be successful without a wide political consensus," stressing that the revocation of the candidacy was made with the approval of the Hungarian government.

The Hungarian bid took a blow in February when a youth political organization called Momentum successfully launched a petition for a referendum regarding the Hungarian hosting of the 2024 Olympic Games. Their campaign, called "NOlimpia", was initiated in January, based on fear of overspending and corruption. Momentum wants the Hungarian government to spend the money on the Hungarian education and healthcare system.

With the official retreat of Budapest, the last two cities remaining in competition for the hosting of the 2024 Olympic Games are Paris and Los Angeles, the winner will be revealed in September, in Lima, Peru. Enditem

(Geza Molnar's cell phone: 003670421770