István Ikotity told reporters in front of the Hungarian Olympic Committee (MOB) headquarters that Budapest residents should be given a chance to decide whether the city should maintain its bid to host the Games.

He said he was asking MOB head Zsolt Borkai to support a signature drive for a petition to hold a local referendum on the issue.

Even under an optimistic scenario, hosting the Olympics would cost Hungary 3,000 billion forints (EUR 9.7bn) but international experience shows that the final budget could be several times more.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.