On Tuesday, the venue that will host the 17th FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, was officially inaugurated.
Danube Arena, Budapest, Hungary. Photo credit: BP2017 Organising Committee
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with FINA Executive Director Cornel Marculesu and FINA Vice-President Tamas Gyarfas in his office and afterwards Budapest’s Mayor Istvan Tarlos symbollically handed over the key of the Danube Arena to Katinka Hosszu. Hosszu won three gold medals at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and also owns several world records.
István Tarlós, the Mayor of Budapest and Balázs Fürjes, the Government Commissioner, gave the “key” of the Danube Arena to Katinka Hosszú. Photo credit: BP2017 Organising Committee
Hosszu later swam a virtual race with world champion Laszlo Cseh, world champion (SC) Peter Bernek and european champion (SC) Gergely Gyurta.
Inauguration of the 2017 World Championships Pool Feb. 22nd 2017. Photo credit: BP2017 Organising Committee
Said FINA Executive Director Cornel Marculescu in his speech at the inauguration: “I have never witnessed something similar in the past, to deliver a construction of such scope in such a short term. To tell the truth, when I am here, I don’t feel I am in a swimming pool. This place is much more than just a pool. It is a masterpiece, a perfect setting for the World Championships this summer.”
Istvan Tarlos, the Mayor of Budapest, added at the press confererence that the Danube Arena also was built for the 2020 European Championships and that “the first world record at the World Championships has already born as this arena became ready in record time.”
Also Government Commissioner Balazs Furjes emphasized: “Despite the short notice, we have proven once more that FINA can rely on us, Hungarians, as we are keeping our promises. Few would have believed in last May, when we laid down the steppingstone here, that we would be ready on time, or now let me say, two months before the deadline set, while keeping the cost plans.”
The grand opening is scheduled for May. The swimming competition during the World Championships will run from 23-30 July.
(source among others: FINA Newsletter February 22,2017)