Cultural Proof #3: The Cost of an Olympic Game


For this cultural proof I have been following the news stories surrounding the Budapest Olympic Bid, as well as the petitions against it.

I take the metro line to school in the morning, to my friends' flats, and to run errands. Some metro stations, like the one nearest to my flat, are clean, quiet and almost eerie. The ones on the older metro lines are places to grab a pastry, listen to some music and to sign the petition to stop Budapest's bid for the 2024 Olympic Games.

I must pass about four different booths every day. The people behind the counter are often students, and they are never rude or pushy. They've been using this petition campaign to make a statement about the current economy in Hungary, as well as the potential problems with hosting this international sporting event.

(There is a good picture of the booth at this link http://gamesbids.com/eng/featured/nolimpia-closes-in-on-budapest-2024-referendum-target-with-a-week-to-go-as-bid-support-weakens/ )

I've run into people in Golden who ask me to sign petitions, or for donations to a charitable cause, but never on this scale. The contrast between the bright Olympic advertisements above ground, to the petition booths below ground is striking. The whole city was holding its breath to find out the results of the referendum to stop the Olympic games. I felt like I was walking through a news article.

There are a few reasons the people of Budapest oppose hosting the Olympic Games. They believe that building the infrastructure and cleaning up the city in order to successfully hold the games would be unwise for the economy of the country. As I have been studying in my Hungarian culture class, the country is agrarian, and lacks a lot of resources necessary for the state to become an industrial powerhouse.  Despite the country joining the EU in 2004, they still use the Hungarian Forint as currency, which is very weak in comparison to the Euro. (For example, I spent about 2,000 HUF on groceries today, which is about seven USD).

They also point to the example of Greece a few years ago. Greece has been struggling economically, and borrowing quite a bit of money from the European Union. The games put a lot of stress on the countries government, and worsened the economic situation. (We have seen this also in Rio, where a lot of news outlets reported that the country had inadequate funds to prepare the infastructure successfully).

The Nolimpia movement has received enough signatures to require a referendum concerning the games. The movement wants to continue to work as a political party, and draw attention to the policies of their prime minister Viktor Orban. The pro-Olympic advertisements that covered the city were removed while I was in Vienna.

I am also taking a class this semester on the regional politics of the EU. I find that as an American in the class, I have a hard time relating to the Hungarian professor. Despite the tension over migrants, countries in economic distress, and Brexit, he remains optimistic that Europe will continue to move into a direction of unity. He believes that in the coming years, the entire continent will become more of a single state than a collection of sovereign nations. This optimistic viewpoint also stands contrary to Orban, who has been a loud voice in the EU.

"Orban has stepped into the spotlight, questioning the continent’s deepening integration and offering an alternative to the “politically correct” liberal democracies of Western Europe." (Foreign Press). 

It is interesting to see international politics take such a prominent role in everyday life, and it is inspiring to see students have such an impact on their country and beyond. It makes me hopeful for people back home in the states. The power of voice is strong, and when people come together in a peaceful way, it can have a real impact.


UPDATE:
I saw this poster hanging on my way home from writing this blog post! It looks like the Nolimpia movement is moving on to bigger things!

No-Orban Poster.


Sources:
http://www.cafebabel.co.uk/article/nolimpia-budapest-against-the-olympics.html
http://gamesbids.com/eng/featured/nolimpia-closes-in-on-budapest-2024-referendum-target-with-a-week-to-go-as-bid-support-weakens/
http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/10/01/hungary-is-too-small-for-viktor-orban/


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