Just over six years ago, a popular movement stymied plans for Budapest to enter a bid to stage the 2024 Olympic Games. Out of that surge against Viktor Orban's government came the Momentum political party.
Paris eventually won the race for next summer's extravaganza. For August 2023? Budapest will host the world athletics championships. Not quite the ultimate event but still not a bad eight-day gig.
Competition starts on 19 August in the morning with the men's 20km walk around the city. The action finishes on Saturday night at the National Athletics Centre with three finals: men's shot put, the women's 10,000 metres and the 4x400m mixed relay.
And it will all be over on 27 August. How could anyone object? Around 2,000 athletes from 200 countries battling for supremacy at a new stadium on a regenerated industrial site in Ferencváros on the banks of the river Danube to the south of the Pest - eastern - side of the city.
An area once dominated by the Vituki water research centre will boast green vistas and wondrous eco interconnectedness.
A pedestrian and cycle cable bridge over a tiny slither of the Danube links the main stadium to the warm-up track on the northern tip of Csepel Island. The link, festooned with the flags of the nations competing at the championships, provides a busy, colourful parade as the river rolls lazily along.
Stage
Once the alpha athletes have gone away to prepare for Paris, the idea is to have a covered and floodlit running track, roller-skating track and a streetworkout area.
There will be enhanced flood-protection schemes as well as riverside pedestrian walkways, cycle lanes and boat stations.
A brownfield site landscaped into oblivion, plans for the high-rise residential and office buildings have been scrapped too. No Olympic Games for Orban's Fidesz party faithful but around 23 hectares of urban regeneration and a 650 million euro hole in the coffers as the inflation rate runs at a European Union high of 17.6 percent.
Janos Kele, a former sports journalist who is one of the leading members the Momentum party, said: "In the midst of the economic and political difficulties that we are experiencing right now, such propagandistic elements can obviously distort reality somewhat and provide a sense of success.
“These political systems want to buy themselves societal and international legitimacy.”
Idea
But 'twas ever thus. What exactly was the World Cup in Qatar if not a grab at international gravitas? And long and loud will be the wailing about African countries hosting the Cup of Nations football tournament while their citizens suffer and starve.
Advocates of the green gleam will simply ask: And why not? The 2023 edition will be the first in Budapest in the 40-year history of the world athletics championships. It follows the continental rotation policy advocated by World Athletics supremo Sebastian Coe.
The former Olympic gold medallist took over in 2015 when the organisation was called the International Association of Athletics Federations (Iaaf) just after the Beijing championships.
The event in China was only the fifth of the 15 editions that had not been held in Europe.
As a European capital prepares to host the championships for a 12th time, an African city has yet to host the event.
"I've been very clear about my commitment to Africa," Coe told RFI.
"I've said that I want to see a world championships in Africa before 2027 and I am very keen to see that happen."
Rethink
It would be a wise move. Kenya came second behind the United States in the medal table in 2017 and 2019. Last year it was Ethiopia in second place.
"There may be an argument that we look at where we need to be to grow the sport," Coe added.
"And we need to look at how we make sure our championships are held in those cities and continents that are best going to help up us to grow."
Coe will reign until 2027 when he will leave under a rule that he brought in during a revamp of the Iaaf in 2016.
Back then the outfit was struggling with the scandal associated with the former president Lamine Diack who had reigned from 1999 until 2015.
Following his departure he was found guilty of corruption and Coe acknowledged that the early part of his tenure had dealt with the fall-out from that sleaze.
"The first four years of my mandate was making sure the ship didn't sink. We were in a really tough situation,” he lamented.
"The next four years were about dealing with stuff that had been in the inbox for far too long."
There was the no small matter of cracking down on the state-sponsored doping of Russian athletes.
Phase
They are still to the fore and will be absent in Budapest due to the conflict between their country and Ukraine.
For the athletes who will be present, Noah Lyles from the United States will attempt to brandish a third consecutive 200m title. The 26-year-old is also running in the 100m and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce from Jamaica will try to burnish her legend with a record-extending sixth 100m crown.
“I don't have a problem saying what my dreams are,” Lyles said on the eve of the championships.
“I don't care if people think I can do it or not. I don't even care if I can't do it. But if I don't say it to myself, it's never going to happen."
And as if to remind the athletes of their place in the world order, Orban took to the airwaves of state broadcasters to announce that he will receive the leaders of Turkey, Serbia, Qatar and a host of Central Asian nations during the championships.
“If there's a big world event, then the given country invites its friends,” Orban proclaimed.
And, of course, given country takes said friends for a trip along the river to savour money well spent.
