The foundation stone for the Budapest headquarters of World Aquatics, the international federation for aquatic sports, was laid in a formal ceremony.
At the event on Tuesday morning, Gergely Gulyás, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, reminded those present in his speech that water is not only a gift of nature for Hungary, but also “part of our identity, culture and heritage.” He emphasized that Hungarian water polo players have won the most medals at the Olympics, while our swimmers rank fourth.
“This ceremony is not just about Hungary, but about the common global mission of swimming.
The international federation is embarking on a new journey on behalf of over 200 member countries. The new headquarters will be a home for science, training, education, and cooperation,”
he said.
World Aquatics President Husain Al Musallam emphasized that
the facility will not simply be a headquarters, but a world-class training and development center, that will be realized with the support of the Hungarian government and Hungarian aquatic sports federations.
According to Ádám Schmidt, State Secretary for Sport, it is a huge success for sports diplomacy that one of the world’s largest sports federations has chosen Budapest as its headquarters. Swimming is “the king of sports,” a fundamental sport that must be continuously strengthened, he emphasized. The new headquarters will help the scientific development of aquatic sports, contribute to keeping swimming and water polo at the forefront, and enable artistic swimming and diving to catch up with the world’s best, the state secretary added.
Péter Zentai, owner of the Láng Negyed project in Budapest’s 13th district, stated that the project is launching after more than five years of work. He added that the World Aquatics headquarters will be one of the key elements of the real estate development taking place on the nearly 8.5-hectare site.
As the highlight of the event, Gergely Gulyás, Husain Al Musallam, Ádám Schmidt, Brent Nowicki, Executive Director of World Aquatics, Péter Zentai, owner of the Láng Negyed project, and Zsanett Rózsahegyi, Project Manager of the Láng Negyed project, were the first to pick up shovels and symbolically launch the investment.
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Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Illyés Tibor
The post Foundation Stone Laid for World Aquatics Headquarters in Budapest appeared first on Hungary Today.
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