Budapest (HUN) counts down 500 days until dual 2019 World Championships

As host of the 2019 UIPM Pentathlon World Championships, Budapest staged an event recently to mark 500 days to go until what promises to be an unforgettable week in the capital of Hungary.

The 2019 World Championships will be unique in that the best pentathletes in the world will compete alongside the best Laser-Runners, as Budapest will be hosting the 2019 UIPM Laser-Run World Championships at the same time.

The 500 Days media event was attended by László Fábián, Sports Director of the Hungarian Olympic Committee, who underlined that world-class events in Hungary had a history of creating local heroes. The Seoul 1988 Olympic team pentathlon champion referenced a world championships in 1989 which he won in front of a crowd of 10,000 at Kincsem Park.

Dr Miklós Stocker, Head of Sports Relations at the Ministry of Human Resources (EMMI), added that the State Government always supported the domestic organization of prestigious international sporting events and stressed the importance of next year’s hosting opportunity.

Gyula Bretz, president of the Hungarian Modern Pentathlon Association (HMPA) and Honorary Member of UIPM, reminded the audience that Budapest would be the European Sports Capital of the Year in 2019 and said the dual UIPM World Championships offered a chance to make this status "even more permanent” with a successfully event.

István Gallai, HMPA Secretary General, laid out about the activities scheduled for the 500 days leading up to Budapest 2019 and said that after the presentation of the event logo, the organizing committee would be formed 365 days before the start of the competition.

"This is a historic moment for the UIPM sporting movement,” said Martin Dawe, UIPM Executive Board Member for Marketing who was in attendance.

"Budapest in 2019 will become the first city to host the Senior Modern Pentathlon World Championships and the Laser-Run World Championships at the same time.

"This is the first step in the vision of the UIPM to create a Pentathlon World Festival, and it is a wonderful opportunity to integrate our historic Olympic sport with our newest and most popular development sport.”