In an official announcement on December 4th, the International Athletics Federation (IAAF) has awarded the organization of the 2023 World Championships to the Hungarian capital, Budapest.
The International Athletics Federation (IAAF) announced on Tuesday that the next World Athletics Championships will be held in Budapest. The announcement was made by IAAF president Sebastien Coe from the organization’s main office in Monaco. The biannual event is to take place between August 26th and September 4th, 2023. This will mark a return to Europe for the grail of athletics competitions, which will follow its upcoming 2019 edition in Doha, Qatar and in the United States – in Eugene, Oregon, in 2021.
The IAAF selection committee first narrowed the choice down by designating Europe as the continental destination. A few cities threw their hats in the ring, but the Hungarian jewel displayed the best capacity to welcome the event. The choice was made under a new process in which the IAAF chose the host city itself. The methods have been implemented as a measure against corruption and in reaction to the ongoing investigation in France concerning the World competitions in 2019 and 2021.
Budapest, Hungary’s time to shine
In regards to successfully organizing track & field events, the Hungarian capital is no neophyte. In 1998, the city welcomed the European Athletics Championships and has twice hosted the IAAF world indoor championships (1989, 2004). The world championships, however, brings with it a distinct prestige, which will require new infrastructure. The city’s response is a stadium with max capacity reaching 40,000 spectators. It will lie to the South of the city, being built near the Rakoczi bridge on the left bank of the Danube. The stadium’s capacity will be rebalanced to 15,000 seats after the IAAF event in order to render the investment sustainable.