It’s over – Budapest withdraws Olympic bid

Budapest, March 1 (MTI) – The Budapest Assembly voted on Wednesday in favour of a motion to withdraw the city’s bid to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The bid was called into question after the Momentum Movement collected over 266,000 signatures to launch a referendum.

The decision was supported by 22 city representatives, while 6 voted against.

The proposal to withdraw the bid was made by Budapest Mayor Istvan Tarlos, who cited lack of unity on the issue as the reason.

Before the vote, the opposition parties held press conferences.

Jobbik blamed the government for the bid’s failure in the first place, insisting that it was unwilling to engage in a genuine dialogue with Budapest residents. The party also blamed the opposition Socialists for backpedaling on their earlier support out of political expediency.

The Socialists said that the Budapest Assembly’s government majority had withdrawn the city’s bid in an “unfair way” instead of allowing a plebiscite to go ahead. LMP similarly argued a local referendum should have decided the issue rather than the Budapest Assembly.