Budapest 2024 snub highlights need for Olympic changes, insiders say

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 16, 2017. Picture taken February 16, 2017. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh

(Reuters) - Budapest's withdrawal from bidding for the 2024 summer Olympics, a process already marred by a string of exits, highlights the need for changes to the Games model, insiders say.

The Olympic Games were once the most hotly contested sports commodity in the world, but in recent years the IOC have seen the bidding process turn into a carousel of early exits, with cities scared off by costs, size or local opposition.