David Kunszenti-Kovacs, a senior researcher at the HUN-REN Alfred Renyi Institute of Mathematics and the main organiser, said some 650 students, along with team leaders, chaperones and organisers from around 120 countries, are expected to attend the competition.

Contestants will tackle three complex problems over two days, with each session lasting four and a half hours, he said. These will not be textbook problems but will require creative thinking and often unconventional ideas, he added.

The logo for the 2027 Budapest IMO features the Gomboc, a special geometric shape discovered by Gabor Domokos and Peter Varkonyi, he said. The Gomboc ties together Hungarian science, geometric thinking and the creativity needed to solve IMO problems, he added. The competition is open to students under the age of 20.

Kunszenti-Kovacs, who has competed in the IMO several times, said many former contestants have gone on to become internationally recognised mathematicians. He cited Terence Tao, an Australian-American mathematician who competed at the age of 13 and is now considered one of the world's greatest living mathematicians.

Many researchers at the Alfred Renyi Institute of Mathematics also competed in the IMO as students, he added.

The IMO, which began as a Central and Eastern European initiative, was first held in 1959 in Brasov, Romania, with 52 contestants from seven countries, he said. Hungary has participated since the beginning. It was the first international science olympiad for students and has since grown into the world's largest and most prestigious high school mathematics competition.

Hungary has hosted the IMO three times: in 1961 in Veszprem, where the Hungarian team finished first, in 1970 in Keszthely, and in 1982 in Budapest.

According to the IMO's official database, Hungarian contestants have won 91 gold, 178 silver and 121 bronze medals, and on 24 occasions a Hungarian contestant has achieved the maximum score. At this year's competition in Shanghai, 666 contestants from 117 countries took part. The Hungarian team finished 16th in the unofficial team competition involving 117 countries.

More: 
imo2027budapest

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881.

Photo: imo2027budapest

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