A few weeks ago I promised that we would be marking 500 days to go to the 2012 Olympics on 16 March. The eagle-eyed among you might have noticed that this date was in fact 499 days from the Olympics (and 532 from the Paralympics). The reason was that 15 March is an important national holiday in Hungary. So to attract maximum attention, we cheated slightly. It meant that we got an excellent turnout for our event at the British Embassy, including many Hungarian Olympic and Paralympic champions representing a wide spectrum of sports. Hungarian TV, radio and press journalists were also there in force.
Over a couple of hours we had a packed programme – speeches from me, a representative of President Pal Schmitt (himself a former Olympic fencing champion) and the Heads of the Hungarian Olympic and Paralympic Committees; a series of short films on aspects of the Games; a video message from UK Sport Minister Hugh Robertson; signing of a cooperation agreement between the Embassy and the Paralympic Committee; and outside displays of three Paralympic sports (fencing, weightlifting and boccia). State Secretary Attila Czene (a former Olympic swimmer) and I then started electronic clocks on the front of the Embassy which will count down to the start of the Olympics and Paralympics next year. Finally our guests were invited back into the Embassy to see a related photo exhibition by the “Suhanj! Foundation” and for a light reception – and in my case for a series of media interviews.
A particularly nice surprise for me was to be able to meet two Hungarian athletes (in gymnastics and basketball) who had competed in the last Olympic Games held in London – in 1948!