Budapest has today (Tuesday) been awarded hosting rights for the 2023 edition of the International Association of Athletics Federations’ (IAAF) World Championships, with a new 40,000-seat stadium to be built in the Hungarian capital to stage the event.
The National Athletics Centre will be built on the eastern bank of the River Danube and its capacity will be reduced to 15,000 for future events.
Although Budapest has never hosted the event, it does have experience of staging major athletics competitions having held the IAAF World Indoor Championships in 1989 and 2004 and the European Championships in 1966 and 1998.
Budapest also hosted the FINA World Swimming Championships and the World Judo Championships in 2017 and will serve as the European Capital of Sport in 2019.
IAAF president Sebastian Coe said: “We are delighted to award the 2023 World Athletics Championships to Budapest in Hungary, a country of extraordinary athletic tradition and great experience in organising world-class sports events.
“It has been the scene of some of our greatest moments as a sport. We are excited about their plans for a new stadium that will become a great legacy for athletics.”
Balázs Fürjes, Government Commissioner for International Sport Bids in Hungary, added: “Our goal is for Budapest to host the most successful Athletics World Championships ever. The benefit of the event will be shown for years and decades beyond the sporting impact.
“The World Championships creates jobs, generates tens of billions of forint directly, as well as indirect revenues for the Hungarian economy and people. It also gives impetus to Dél-Pest and the urban development of Észak-Csepel.”
Before Budapest hosts the World Championships in 2023, Doha in Qatar will stage the event in 2019 and the US city of Eugene will play host in 2021.
Image: Hungarian Athletics Association
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