Hungary withdraws candidacy from the 2024 Olympic Games

The Hungarian government announced a decision on a proposal to withdraw the candidacy from the 2024 Olympic Games in Budapest, addressed to both the Budapest City Hall and the National Olympic Committee, media reports said.

"The Olympic Games are a national cause for Budapest and Hungary. According to our experience, unity is necessary to represent national causes. This unity between the leaders of the country and the parties was real at the time of the presentation of the bid, reflected in the decisions of the Budapest City Hall by a majority of 92 per cent, and of the Parliament by a majority of 80 per cent," Xinhua news agency quoted the resolution of the government as saying on Wednesday.

According to the Hungarian government, this unity has been disintegrated in the last months, for which the opposition parties are to blame.

The national cause of the Olympic Games became a political party affair, for which the opposition parties are liable, who turned their backs on the former decision, the government added.

As the necessary unity in Budapest has been lost, the bid of Budapest lost all of its chances,the government said.

"In such a context, the only responsible decision is that if the city of Budapest and the National Olympic Committee do not maintain their bid. That is why the government of Hungary proposes to withdraw the candidacy from the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic games in Budapest," the government said.

--IANS

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