National Athletics Centre, Budapest (© Zsigmond László)
The track for the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August has been completed at the National Athletics Centre and was unveiled to the local media on Wednesday.
The construction of the venue for the greatest sporting event in 2023 is nearing completion. Although the roof structure has long been part of the panorama of the Danube, the Hungarian press have now had a close-up look at the freshly laid Mondo surface, and the completed grand stands. They received details of the precise engineering planning that has gone into the construction of the facility. From 19-27 August, the world's best athletes will make history in the brand new, purpose-built stadium.
Ádám Schmidt, State Secretary for Sport and Government Commissioner responsible for the World Championships, said that the events of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest would be watched by nearly 400,000 people on site and by around one billion people via television. He added that part of the 35,000-seat grandstand would be dismantled after the biggest sporting event in Hungary’s history, and that the temporary spectator area would be replaced by one of Europe’s most beautiful running circles for sports fans and recreational runners, while professional athletes would train in the centre. He also spoke about a 10.5-hectare sports park that would be created next to the stadium after the World Championships to serve a healthier lifestyle.
Márton Gyulai, Deputy CEO of Budapest 2023 Nonprofit Zrt., the company organising the event, and Péter Árvai, project manager of the construction consortium, said during the tour that the Mondo-surfaced, world-class, nine-lane track was extremely fast and unique in Hungary. In contrast to previous world championships, the medal ceremonies will be held outside the stadium, in the adjacent Medal Plaza, before the evening sessions, instead of between the events, so that spectators arriving at the venue will be able to get up close to the world's best athletes.
In addition to the completion of the track, the technical handover of the stadium building has also begun, revealing a unique and distinctive interior design. A 500-seat press tribune, a 110-seat press conference room and a 400-seat press centre have been created for the media. There is also an indoor six-lane running track, and in parallel with the construction of the stadium, a 168-metre-long single-pylon pedestrian bridge - also known as the Robinson Bridge - has been completed to link the arena to the training ground on Csepel Island.
Balázs Németh, CEO of Budapest 2023 Zrt. said that there is a huge interest, not only from home but also from abroad, in the World Championships, which will be the biggest sporting event in the world this year; with 2,500 athletes from 203 countries expected to attend the World Championships.
The CEO also said that the stadium would be inaugurated in mid-June as part of a family sports day and the first competition would be the Hungarian National Championships in the second week of July.
Tickets and Packages are available here! More than 160 000 tickets have already been sold, and they remain in high demand with less than four months to go before the event in one of Europe’s most beautiful cities.
