Taking stock of the Budapest Athletics World Championships on Day 5: record-breaking spectator numbers, a Hungarian bronze, and amazing competitions.

Ádám Schmidt called attention to the championships’ mascot, Youhuu the Hungarian racka sheep, a lovable and entertaining character. He also mentioned that, for the first time in the 40-year history of the world championships, short films about the athletes will be shown to the audience before certain events.

From the tram stops of lines 1, 2, and 24, a few minutes’ walk from Müpa will get spectators to the northern and main entrances of the National Athletics Centre. The Ráckeve (H6) and Csepel (H7) suburban railway lines are also excellent choices, and several buses serve the nearby Közvágóhíd stop as well.

Thanks to a spectacular and comfortable transport solution, spectators will also be able to travel to the venue of the Budapest Athletics World Championships by boat from Batthyány Square. The organisers, committed to offering unique experiences to the athletics enthusiasts arriving in the Hungarian capital, will set up several fan zones in the centre of the city, along the route of the street races.

In terms of spectators, the championship will be the largest sports event in Hungary of all time. Also, in the history of world championships in the sport, never before have so many athletes participated in a single event as they will now.

As every year, the Cake of Hungary is selected ahead of August 20, with those attending the holiday events being the first to taste the creations of Hungary’s best pastry chefs. The competition this year was won by the torte named Tipsy Fig Respectus of the Levendula és Kert (Lavender and Garden) cake shop from Szigetszentmiklós, located on Csepel Island. Essential ingredients of the cake include Aszú wine, figs and honey.

The central figure on one side of the medals is the emblem of the championships, Budapest’s renowned landmark, the Liberty Statue on Gellért Hill. The female figure is holding a palm frond aloft, symbolising determination, glory, and victory. In the foreground of the back of the medals is the brand-new National Athletics Centre, reminiscent of a crown for the queen of sports, with the track where the athletes will be competing visible in the background.

The event series offers spectacular and exciting adventures for both young and old during the August meteor shower period. The programmes include telescope demonstrations, astronomical lectures, and meteor-watching sessions.

At this year’s MCC Feszt, a now traditional music festival and intellectual gathering for conservative-minded young and not-so-young audiences, former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and US conservative political commentator and media host Michael Knowles will also be among the speakers.

National Marriage Week was first organised over two decades ago in the UK, intended as a celebration of the commitment of two individuals to spend the rest of their lives together. The purpose of the initiative is to popularise and strengthen marriage in communities. Hungary joined the movement in 2008.