Hungary: Hundreds of residents dive into the Danube for Budapest Urban Games

For five hours a year, 700 Budapest residents are allowed to swim in the Danube river as part of the Budapest Urban Games, which took place on Saturday.

The Danube, the longest river in Europe, is one of the Hungarian capital’s main attractions. But swimming in it is usually forbidden as it is used for cargo ships or tourist boats.

“We are living around the Danube River, yet it is not possible for us to swim in it or use it in any other way as a Budapest resident. The river is only used for industrial carrier ships or tourist boats, but if you are just a resident, you are not allowed to go in it,” said BUG organizer Balazs Mezas.

This year, the organizers were only allowed to let 20-25 swimmers in the water at a time, in order to follow safety and social distancing measures which were implemented on the embankments due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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