| 45th Chess Olympiad | ||
|---|---|---|
| 10–23 September 2024 | ||
| Venue | Hungexpo Exhibition and Conference Centre | |
| Location | Budapest, Hungary | |
| Previous | ←Chennai 2022 | |
| Next | Tashkent 2026 → | |
The 45th Chess Olympiad, organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising open[1] and women's tournaments, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, will be held in Budapest, Hungary from 10 to 23 September 2024.[2] It will be the first Chess Olympiad to take place in Hungary after Budapest hosted the 2nd unofficial Chess Olympiad in 1926.[3]
The bidding procedure for the Chess Olympiad 2024 and the FIDE Congress in connection with bids for the Women's World Cup 2022 and Chess World Cup 2023 was opened in November 2019.[4] Each city interested to host the event had to submit their bid to FIDE by 1 May 2020. The bids were to guarantee that all necessary provisions in accordance with the Olympiad Regulations of the FIDE Handbook would be covered by the organiser, including articles 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 pertaining to the organising committee, finances, and provision of amenities and stipends, respectively.[5] There was only one bid to host the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, which was approved by the FIDE General Assembly in December 2020. Hungarian political authorities, chess players as well as prominent members of the Olympic movement and the sports administration have expressed their unconditional support to the event.[3]
The 45th Chess Olympiad was originally scheduled to take place in Minsk in 2022, but FIDE decided to move it from there and re-open the bid after the Belarusian organisers fail to accomplish their organisational and financial duties.[6] After failing to find an alternative host for the event in 2022, FIDE decided to move the 44th Chess Olympiad from 2021 to 2022, so the event scheduled for 2024 in Budapest will be the 45th Chess Olympiad.[3]
The provisional total budget for the Chess Olympiad is €16.6 million, including €9 million for event services and operations as well as the hosting fee.[7] In June 2021, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich together with the president of the Hungarian Chess Federation László Szabó and the executive director of the National Sports Agency of Hungary Attila Mihok signed the contract for the event in Budapest.[8] The organisers of the event intend to make it an innovative Olympiad by introducing new technologies, such as a 5G high-speed wireless network, a real-time visual broadcast, holograms and newly invented "sensitive" chess boards for the visually impaired. It was announced to be a "green" Olympiad with the possibility of transfers between the venues and the hotels with bicycles and electric vehicles as well as by avoiding paper and plastic.[3]
The venue for the event will be BOK Hall, Budapest, Dózsa György út 1, 1146. The venue will be serving as the central location of the event with functions of, playing venue, accreditation center, Expo and fan zone area.[9]