Coronavirus – Several events affecting Budapest postponed
The government’s operative staff in charge of national holiday events has decided to postpone the award ceremony of the Kossuth and Széchenyi Prizes in view of the new coronavirus, Zoltan Kovács, the head of the body, said on commercial Inforadio on Thursday.
The prestigious Kossuth Prize, a recognition of outstanding cultural achievements, and the Széchenyi Prize for scientific work, are traditionally handed over on the March 15 national holiday.
Kovács noted that the government had earlier decided to cancel central programmes of the upcoming national holiday. The list of awardees will be published on the occasion of the holiday, but the prizes will be handed over at a later date, he said.
Moroever, the Covid-19 Working Group of the FINA international swimming federation has postponed various events affect Hungary and the Hungarian national teams.
The women’s water polo Olympic qualifier in Trieste has been postponed from this week to May 17-24, though this decision will be reviewed on April 20.
The working group will decide together with the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Organising Committee whether to hold preliminary heats in April for swimmers and water polo players.
Meanwhile, Hungarian Water Polo World League matches have been postponed to September-October. The Water Polo World Championships scheduled in Budapest from April 10 to 12 will also be held at a later date.
For the time being, the Tokyo Olympics qualifications remain unchanged, FINA said. But if changes are made, information will be made available immediately.
FINA’S Covid-19 Working Group is holding its next meeting next Monday.
The ITF has also announced the postponement of both the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Finals 2020 and Fed Cup Play-offs in response to COVID-19 concerns.
The ITF Board has made the decision after careful consideration and close discussion with the Local Organizing Committee in light of the announcement by the Hungarian government on Wednesday regarding indoor events.
Originally scheduled to take place from April 14 to 19 at the Laszlo Papp Sport Arena in Budapest, the Fed Cup Finals is an Olympic Qualification event.
The ITF is working closely with the IOC to address any impact this may have on athlete eligibility for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Source: MTI