The championships were originally planned to be held in Guadalajara, in Mexico, but the city pulled out a year ago for financial reasons, Fürjes noted.

FINA picked Hungary to host the event shortly afterward, leaving the country just two years to prepare, about half the usual time, he said.

“We’re running the marathon as a sprint, because we have no other choice,” he added. About 5,000 people are working on the construction.

Hosting the championships is expected to cost Hungary 49 billion forints (EUR 158m), though the budget is seen recovering about 10 billion forints in the form of VAT, Fürjes said earlier.

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