World Aquatics advances Budapest transition with historic opening of interim office

 

Distinguished members of the aquatics community today witnessed the historic grand opening of World Aquatics’ interim office in Budapest, Hungary by President Husain Al-Musallam and the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó.

Four-time Olympic swimming medallist Chad le Clos, six-time World Aquatics Championships water polo medallist Felipe Perrone and double Olympic medallist Pernille Blume were among the guests present at the event, which marks a significant step on the road to World Aquatics’ transition to Budapest.

Athletes have been placed at the heart of the decision to move the World Aquatics headquarters, and the ambition is to complete the transitional process in time for the 2027 World Aquatics Championships in the Hungarian capital.

The interim office is expected to house 25 new World Aquatics staff members. They will oversee a state-of-the-art content studio, which will help to bring athletes even closer to fans and the wider global aquatics community and elevate World Aquatics’ social media and digital content profile.

President Al-Musallam and Minister Szijjártó cut the ribbon to formally open the interim office before visiting the impressive new facilities.

Following his tour of the site, President Al-Musallam hailed the significance of the interim office in paving the way for World Aquatics’ exciting relocation to a city with a rich history and bright future in aquatic sports.

“It is a huge honour to be here with Minister Szijjártó and our elite athletes to make this important step for our organisation and global community,” he said.

“Budapest has proven itself to be an outstanding host of our events and our athletes, and we are delighted to be making notable progress on a move which will help to enhance the profile, and further the development, of our aquatics sports.

“The facilities at our new interim office are excellent, and today’s opening is an important chapter in World Aquatics’ history.”

World Aquatics’ Member Federations voted in favour of moving the federation’s headquarters from Lausanne, Switzerland to Budapest at the World Aquatics General Congress 2023 in Fukuoka.

Budapest’s outstanding aquatics training and competition facilities include the Duna Arena and the Alfred Hajos National Swimming Stadium, and Hungary has a demonstrable record of delivering world-class aquatics events. This includes the 2017 and 2022 World Aquatics Championships.

Next month, it will again play host to the world’s leading athletes when it hosts the World Aquatics Swimming World Championships (25m) from 10-15 December, and the World Aquatics Championships are scheduled to return to Budapest in 2027.

World Aquatics has a long and proud history in Lausanne, the city of its current headquarters, and this will continue after the completion of the move to Budapest.

At the World Aquatics General Congress 2023, members approved the establishment of a World Aquatics Foundation based in Lausanne. The city will also be the home of the Aquatics Integrity Unit, which provides independent oversight of all integrity-related matters in aquatics.