Ferenc Kemény was an educationalist who had studied in Paris where he came across Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the French nobleman who was so set on bringing back the Olympics.

Both men attended conferences on the development of sport and Kemény wrote extensively on the subject.

By now Kemény had become a teacher and organised sporting activities for his pupils, including swimming lessons.

In 1894, Coubertin arranged his famous meeting at the Sorbonne in Paris and Kemény was invited to attend as one of the founder members.

In 1895, the official bulletin of the Olympic Games announced that he had been appointed director of the Royal School in Budapest. He had also consulted Count István Csáky de Körösszeg et Adorján, former Minister of Public Instruction about Hungarian participation in the first Modern Olympics in 1896 and reported that "Csáky had taken a lively interest in our work".

The Hungarians planned a great exhibition to commemorate the 1,000th anniversary of the state. Kemeny and Csáky also made it clear that Budapest would be ready to step in and stage the Olympics "in the unlikely event that unexpected difficulties prevented Athens from doing so".

Coubertin wrote of his appreciation that "Olympism was not neglected. I took care to not to repulse these offers but contented myself with using them to spur on the Greeks."

In fact the Games did go ahead in Athens and Hungary's team took part.

"[They] arrived under the leadership of our amiable representative in Hungary, M Kemény and they have been met with an enthusiastic reception," reported Coubertin.

They were even able to celebrate their first champion, swimmer Alfred Hajos. The competitions were held in the sea and the water was extremely cold waters. He admitted later that "my will to live completely overcame my desire to win".

Another Olympic bulletin after the Games "took note of the proposition made by Kemény to one day hold the Olympics in Budapest".

Kemény represented the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the St Louis Olympics in 1904. In Coubertin’s words he was "a discreet bearer of our best wishes to the organisers".

Although Kemény resigned from the IOC in 1907, the Hungarian Olympic connection remained strong.

In 1911, the IOC gathered for a session at the Palace of the Academy of Sciences on the banks of the Danube. The Hungarians rolled out the red carpet. Mayor Etienne Barczy was also president of the Hungarian Athletic Union and he told an enthusiastic gathering.

"I raise my glass in profound respect to Baron Coubertin, to the health of the IOC members and to the growing prosperity of the Olympic Movement," he said.

Then Archduke Joseph opened the Session on behalf of the Emperor, saying, "I am happy to greet this eminent gathering which has come together to deal with the great questions which interest the entire sporting world."

Such a regal welcome delighted Coubertin.

IOC members Count Geza Andrassy and Jules de Musza organised proceedings. These included banquets on the Margitziget (Margaret's Island) and a host of other social events. Even so, the official reports noted that some invitations had to be turned down and insisted "the festivities did not impede the working programme".

The Hungarians seized the opportunity to ask for the 1916 Olympic Games be held in Budapest. They joined Alexandria, Berlin and Cleveland as candidate cities.

The British clergyman Robert de Courcy Laffan reported on suggested regulations defining amateurism, then a burning issue in the Olympic world. His recommendations were adopted provisionally.

The Committee heard a progress report from the organisers of the 1912 Stockholm Games. Their delegation included future IOC President Johannes Sigfrid Edström.

The IOC expressed their regret that boxing would not be part of the 1912 programme, but did have some successes. Equestrian events and a new competition modern pentathlon were introduced. It was appropriate that this should have been decided in Budapest for the sport was to become very popular in Hungary.

They also decided to award the Olympic Cup to the "’Societe Italienne de Tourisme".

The Olympic motto - Faster, Higher, Stronger - was also unveiled.

Budapest were not chosen as 1916 hosts. Those Games were allocated to Berlin, but Budapest was lined up in pole position for 1920.

Then came the First World War. When it was over the defeated powers, including Hungary, were excluded from the first post-war Olympics.

During the inter-war years, Hungary returned to the fold and one of the greatest Olympians took the stage. Fencer Aladár Gerevich won his first of seven gold medals as a member of the Hungarian sabre team at Los Angeles 1932. Though he only won individual title, Gerevich had a remarkable career which spanned six Games. His final gold medal came at the age of 50. His compatriots Rudolf Kárpáti and Pál Kovács had similar success in a similar span.

It was hardly surprising that the first Hungarian woman to win Olympic gold was also a fencer. Ilona Elek won the individual foil competition at Berlin 1936. 

In the meantime, IOC member Ferenc Mező had embarked on an ambitious project to compile the results of every Olympics Games in one book.

Mező had won a prize for literature in the Olympic art competitions.

He was later described his compatriot Arpad Csanády as "the champion of the intellectual Olympic Games".

Mező also authored a book which gave details of Hungarians in the Olympics. Ultimately his volume would feature the glory achieved many of his countrymen.

At the 1948 Olympics in London, the first after the Second World War, middleweight boxer László Papp took his first steps towards immortality. One newspaper report dismissed him as "a Hungarian with a knockout punch but not much defence".

In the final he beat John Wright, a British sailor. Papp was "too accurate a fighter and too often landed his round armed punches on vulnerable parts".

The ring had been constructed over the swimming pool used earlier in the Games and when the result was announced, Hungarian officials jumped into the water in celebration.

Four years later in Helsinki, Papp won a second gold medal, this time at Light middleweight. In 1956, he became the first man to win three successive boxing golds when he beat the American José Torres in Melbourne.

In 1952, all the stars were in alignment for Hungarian football. They still refer to this side as their "Golden Team". To the rest of the world they were the "Magnificent Magyars". Skippered by Ferenc Puskás, they swept all before them as they won the gold medal. The British football official Sir Stanley Rous was so impressed with their performance in the 1952 Olympic final that he invited the team to Wembley there and then. The match took place in November 1953 and the Hungarians beat England 6-3. The return fixture in Budapest the following spring was an even more emphatic 7-1 win.

By then a new stadium had risen in Budapest. IOC President Avery Brundage was present to see it officially inaugurated. It was to be the centrepiece of a Budapest bid for 1960 .

At the 1954 World Cup held in Switzerland, Hungary seemed to be unstoppable once again. They reached the final with Puskás playing despite carrying an carrying an injury. Although they stormed into a two-goal lead, Germany fought back to lift the Jules Rimet Trophy.

In 1956, the aftermath of the Hungarian uprising tore sport in the country apart. Puskás subsequently made a new career in another golden team at Real Madrid.

As Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest, some Hungarian competitors did find their way out of the city. Some even made their way to Melbourne for the 1956 Olympics.

They displayed flags with the Communist symbols cut out. These were replaced by the traditional Kossuth Arms and were fuelled by a wave of emotion and a great spirit of national pride.

They won gold in fencing, beating a Russian team en route in a volatile match. Gymnast Ágnes Keleti was the most successful individual performer, but most symbolic of all was Hungary’s success in water polo. The images of their match against the Soviet Union flashed round the world.

Hungarian modern pentathlon has fine reputation. Since Rome 1960 when Ferenc Németh won the individual gold medal, a podium without at least one Hungarian has been a rarity.

In the sixties a new generation of footballers came together. Inspired by Ferenc Bene they took the gold medal at Tokyo 1964. They made it three victories at Mexico 1968, though the final against Bulgaria was marred after four men were sent off. No other country has yet won a greater number of men’s football tournaments at the Olympics.

It was also in Mexico 1968 that Pál Schmitt won the first of his fencing gold medals.

Schmitt joined the IOC in 1983 and as President of the Hungarian Olympic Committee (MOB) in 1995, he welcomed his colleagues to a session in Budapest. It was a year which marked the centenary of the MOB. Much later, he also became his country’s Head of State.

Schmitt described the session as "one of the most important events in Hungarian Olympic history" and looked ahead with with prophetic words: "I want the IOC members to remember that they made a wise decision on where the 2002 Winter Games will be held."

The members voted for Salt Lake City, a decision which ultimately caused the biggest administrative crisis in the history of the Olympic Movement.

New sporting idols were being created in Hungary. Amongst her other successes Swimmer Kristina Egerszegi set the seal on a golden career with a third consecutive 200m backstroke title at Atlanta 1996, placing her amongst the greats of Olympic swimming. Her compatriot Tamás  Darnyi had announced himself at Seoul 1988 and became one of the greatest individual medley swimmers of all time.

Hungary’s performances at Rio 2016 perfectly reflected their Olympic traditions. Frencer Emese Szász started the ball rolling in the women’s épée and Áron Szilágyi took the honours in men’s sabre.

A 120 yers on from Alfred Hajos , Katinka Hosszú, known as "’the Iron Lady"’ in Hungarian swimming circles, was able to display three individual gold medals on her return to Budapest, a tally matched by canoeist Danuta Kozák.

Budapest 2024 are calling their bid "The Real Alternative". They may be outsiders and facing political opposition in Hungary which leaves a big question mark over the bid, but the prospect of a Games in the ancient settlements of Buda and Pest will be a very real attraction for many.