11 March 2015, Budapest

Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen, Honourable Executive Director,

I am about to render an account of a development that is rather alien to the Hungarian character, as Hungarians have been better known in the past few decades for aspiring to great things, and then seeing those great plans fail, or have to be postponed or cut in half, or need more time. So in general, those great plans tended to fall short of that which was originally desired. We are more used to this turn of events. But now the reverse of this scenario has led to today’s meeting, the legal part of which was completed as follows. Executive Director Marculescu attended today’s cabinet meeting of the Hungarian government. A separate item on the agenda was the staging of the 2017 World Aquatics Championships, following withdrawal of the originally planned host, the city of Guadalajara in Mexico. Over the last few days Hungary’s prime minister has conducted negotiations on behalf of the Government with FINA, the International Swimming Federation, and both parties concluded that Hungary may organise the 2017 World Championships if this country is able to create the conditions necessary for the event. The Government reviewed the situation at its meeting today, and heard His Excellency Mr. Marculescu, President Gyárfás and the ministers responsible for sports, investments and finances. We adopted decisions and assigned tasks. We have decided to sign the agreement with Mr. Marculescu, according to which Hungary will host the 2017 World Aquatics Championships. The signing took place some moments ago. Joint efforts will be necessary for this; some of these efforts are already in progress: the City of Budapest supports the idea of Budapest hosting the world championships and we have consulted with the group leaders of the parliamentary parties, who have not refused to cooperate. The Hungarians here might know that it is not an insignificant matter in Hungarian politics when opposing parties do not rule out cooperation. This is why there is a good chance that a national consensus can be reached that will form the basis for the event’s successful organisation.

This is an enormous undertaking. It has its risks. Success is not written in the stars – or if it is written anywhere, it can only be written in the stars, but surely not here on Earth. If we do not do our job well, if we make mistakes, if we fail to keep the deadlines, Hungary not only runs the risk of falling short of glory, but of suffering humiliation. But as we are optimistic, this was not our premise – though this eventuality cannot be ruled out. We have made thorough calculations, however. If everyone does their work, if everyone meets their deadlines, if everyone delivers quality work, the venues will be finished by the deadline, according to requirements, well before the event, and every condition for Hungary to organise successful world championships will be met. This is important, because we have not yet hosted an event on such a scale in our entire history: what we are talking about now is the largest international event in the history of Hungary. This is the task in hand. If we do our job well, we shall be very proud and shall profit greatly from it. In a purely financial sense, we are talking about an extremely profitable initiative that offers a high rate of return, and which will additionally be a great, uplifting experience for Hungary and the Hungarian people. I therefore believe that the conditions exist and we must work hard; all in all, this is a mission that can be accomplished.

We are grateful to His Excellency Mr. Marculescu for FINA and the Honourable Executive Director himself having given Hungary this vote of confidence. In Hungary last year we recorded GDP growth of 3.5%: the Hungarian economy and its various industries performed surprisingly well, so we have a good basis on which to organise this event, and we have sound arguments for why we are capable of successfully hosting the world championships. Once again, we wish to thank the Honourable Executive Director for having accepted the assistance offered, for the cooperation which he manifested in connection with the 2021 World Championships and, in the last few days and weeks, in connection with the 2017 World Championships. We are proud, Honourable Executive Director, that you have chosen us. You may rest assured that we shall rise to this challenge.