Swimming, success – LEN annual congress held in Budapest

According to Nemzetisport.hu, the annual congress of LEN (Ligue Européenne de Natation) was held in Budapest this year. More precisely, the meeting took place in Duna Arena, confirming the variety of purposes this venue can fulfil.

The 52 delegates of the members met in a boardroom on the first floor of the building. They were greeted by Tünde Szabó, the Hungarian undersecretary responsible for sports. In her speech, she talked about the exceptional national cooperation that resulted in one of the best FINA world cups of all time in 2017 and led to the hosting opportunity for Hungary of such an important event of sports diplomacy this year.

“We are proud that our devotion, unique solutions and hard work showed the world, again and again, what Hungary, Budapest, Hungarian sports and Hungarian talent are like.”

She also added that the fact that Hungary won the opportunity to host a number of the coming international sporting events is proof that “for us, doing sports and supporting sports is a real profession of faith and – while being in tune with LEN’s goals – we are devoted to do what is best for our sportspeople as well as to the continued progress and innovation of the sports sciences, sports healthcare, sports law and sports marketing.” The undersecretary mentioned that 39 swimming pools were built in the country in the last 8 years, which is an important aspect of being able to answer the challenges of our time. “The challenges may be new, but the answers are based on old values such as hard work, integrity, tolerance and loyalty.”

The capital was represented by Alexandra Szalay-Bobrovniczky, the assistant lord mayor. She greeted the participants of the LEN congress and highlighted the fact that Budapest’s popularity is still on the rise – since 2010, the number of tourists visiting rose by 30% -, a huge part of which are the various prestigious sporting events of the past years, especially the FINA world cup which was attended by hundreds of thousands of people.

“We are proud that Budapest won the title of “Sports Capital of Europe” for 2019, which we plan to celebrate with rich programs, including events of sports diplomacy such as this, too.”

Paolo Barelli, the president of LEN, thanked the hard work of the Hungarian organisers and told the representatives of the government and of the capital that practically everybody in the room could be eligible for a Hungarian citizenship since, because of the various aquatic events, they spend more time in Budapest than in their homes, inciting general amusement in the room. What he said was true, though, since,