Fuelled by Olympic momentum, young Hungarian group aims for parliament

Activists of the opposition Momentum Movement collect signatures to force a referendum on the country's Olympic plans as Budapest bids for the 2024 Olympic Games, in central Budapest, Hungary, February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Organising their campaign from a decrepit basement, a group of young professionals and students have collected a quarter of a million signatures in a month to press for a referendum that could force Budapest to abandon its 2024 Olympic bid.

Their Momentum movement has burst on to Hungary's political scene to challenge Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government and opposition parties a year before elections in 2018.