Since early August, Hungarian athletes have been practicing at the National Athletics Centre track and field stadium, where the upcoming World Championships will take place starting next Saturday. On Monday morning, a public training session was held in the arena for the press, featuring hammer throwers, as well as 400-metre sprinters and hurdlers.

The facility is nearly ready for the start, with only minor touch-ups visibly missing, which was being worked on during the training. The World Championships are scheduled to take place at the National Athletics Centre from 19 to 27 August, with the road running and racewalking events hosted at Heroes’ Square. The international interest in the Budapest Athletics World Championships, starting on 19 August, is immense, with fans of the sport purchasing tickets from nearly a hundred countries.

Balázs Németh, CEO of Budapest 2023 Ltd, spoke during a press conference last Tuesday, highlighting that the number of athletics enthusiasts coming to Hungary can be estimated in tens of thousands. ‘Up to this day,

tickets for the Budapest Athletics World Championships have been bought from 99 countries.

According to our calculations, there will be around fifty thousand foreigners here in Budapest, individuals who are travelling exclusively for the World Championships and will spend about 200 thousand guest nights in Hungary,’ said the CEO, adding that the organisers aim for the attendees of the championships to spread Hungary’s positive reputation globally and to showcase ‘Hungary as a great place’ through television broadcasts. ‘It has been mentioned that around one billion people will watch the TV broadcasts, and we would like everyone on the other side of the world to see that Hungary and Budapest, within it, are one of the best places on Earth,’ emphasised Balázs Németh.

On Tuesday, a sign was set up in Erzsébet Square indicating how many days remain until the event. ‘Erzsébet Square was chosen because we will also set up a fan zone here, just like there will be one in the stadium park of the National Athletics Centre. The downtown fan zone will open on 15 August. At both locations, visitors can try out athletics-related games. Here at Erzsébet Square, anyone can do so completely for free, and at the National Athletics Centre, those who have purchased tickets for the World Championships,’ Németh explained the reason for placing the countdown there.

Top Ten Best Sport Cities

For the first time in its history, Budapest has also been ranked among the top ten best sports cities in the world by the Swiss consulting firm BCW, specialising in sports.

The Hungarian capital achieved an honourable tenth place on the list led by Paris.

Following Paris are Los Angeles and London in second and third places respectively. Three countries have contributed two cities each to the top ten: from the United States, Los Angeles and New York; from Spain, Madrid and Barcelona; and from England, London and Manchester.

When compiling the ranking, the number of sports events hosted by a city is taken into account, as well as its reputation among industry experts and the expected future prospects. A significant factor is the experience gained in organising international sports events. Budapest received substantial extra points due to its hosting of the 2022 World Aquatics Championships and this year’s Athletics World Championships.

It was emphasised that the planned relocation of the international governing body for aquatic sports to Budapest, which is already highly regarded in the professional assessment, is also expected to greatly enhance the city’s standing.

A New Venue

After the demolition and subsequent reconstruction of the old Puskás Ferenc Stadium without an athletics track during the 2010s, there has not been a single large international athletics event-capable stadium left in Hungary. This gap is intended to be filled by the National Athletics Centre, located at just a five to eight minute walk from the Pest end of the Rákóczi Bridge. It is the most modern athletics facility in Central and Eastern Europe and will be a fitting home not only for the world’s third-largest sports event but also for Hungarian athletics, which has a history of over 125 years.

The stadium’s capacity during the World Championships will be 35,000, thanks to the addition of temporary stands on the second level. Since this is a stadium specifically designed for athletics competitions, all significant events on the track will be perfectly visible from these temporary locations. The 15,000-seat lower level will remain part of the stadium after the World Championships as well.

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