Hungary's Olympic dream 'killed' by political upstarts, says PM Orban

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during his state-of-the-nation address in Budapest, Hungary, February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary had to withdraw its bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games to avoid a humiliating defeat in the race with Paris and Los Angeles after a local political movement "killed the Olympic dream", Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio on Friday.

The Momentum movement, a new force in Hungarian politics, last week submitted a petition with 266,000 signatures demanding a referendum in Budapest on an event seen as symbolically important to Orban.