Those outside of the Olympic Movement may not have realised the Hungarian capital was even bidding, following a period of dormancy that has raised questions about their strategy. Paris and Los Angeles - and to a certain extent Rome - on the other hand, have been at it from the get-go.

Other than formally declaring their candidacy last year, Budapest 2024 have been relatively supine, gazing up at the other runners who already appear to be streets ahead.

Perhaps the official launch of the bid, staged amid a stunning, picturesque backdrop here which even the other three cities will struggle to contend with, will change all of that. Perhaps now the campaign truly begins.

Yet, having been given the chance to experience the bid and the city at first hand, I get the sense that, thus far, it has been far too laid back, and that needs to change. Fast.

As an outsider looking in, surely the best way to go about it would have been to jump the gun - get out in front of the rest and let the world know you mean business.

Instead, Budapest 2024 opted to wait, lurking in the distance and biding their time before an opportunity arose. A risky tactic which may or may not pay off - the general view is that it may be the latter.

That opportunity comes in the format of the SportAccord Convention in Lausanne, where all of the bid cities will have a strong presence as they seek to lobby for early votes ahead of the crucial International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Lima next September.

Their aim by launching their logo, which depicts iconic imagery of the quite breath-taking scenery the city has to offer, including the River Danube and Liberty Statue, as well as the five colours of the Olympic Rings, ahead of the gathering of the sporting world in the Olympic capital was to make sure they were the talk of the town.

“There are many advantages in the way we did it, and just before SportAccord, we can show up to the global sports family with our logo freshly launched,” Budapest 2024 chairman Balázs Fürjes told me here.

He makes a valid point, one which he was keen to stress throughout our lengthy chat high up at the Citadella, where the Liberty Statue watches over the city like a hawk. The Bid Committee feel confident they have made the right choice to wait as, in theory, they have seized the limelight from the other, more-established candidates.

Over four months have passed since Rome unveiled their bid, with Paris and Los Angeles, thought to be the favourites at this early stage, following suit in February after the cities submitted the first phase of their Candidature Files.

Still Budapest waited. The lack of information disseminating from the Bid Committee at this point was alarming; do they even know they are bidding for an Olympic and Paralympic Games?

Organisers claim, however, that the delay was all a deliberate plan, a calculated plan to give them the chance to fully rally the entire country behind their bid. They quickly reminded me how phase three of the Candidature File submission isn't until next February, and that they have more than enough time to ramp up a cleverly-executed campaign before bid fever reaches boiling point.

As I was frequently told by members of Budapest 2024 and London-based communications firm M, who are advising their Hungarian counterparts during the campaign, “this bid is not just for the capital - it is for the whole nation”. With approval ratings hovering around the 60 per cent mark, uniting the Central European country behind the bid is of paramount importance.

In terms of the logo, which has attracted mixed receptions on social media thus far - one user brought a smile to our faces by likening it to Fuzzy Felt, a famous fabric toy targeted at young children - the idea was to engage the population and young graphic designers. As Fürjes put it, “instead of going to a very well established, fancy communications agency, why don’t we engage the youth of Hungary?”

Why not, indeed. After all, a buzzword at IOC HQ has long been youth and youth engagement - although this came amid suggestions the Youth Olympic Games concept would be scrapped - and it appears Budapest 2024 have tailored their bid to that particular demographic.

“In the facilities and in the venues we want to have the youngest-ever audience for an Olympic Games,” said Fürjes.

They have also leaned heavily on Agenda 2020, that phrase which so often dominates IOC President Thomas Bach’s speeches to the point where its mere mention draws groans and sighs from the crowd, and everything Budapest 2024 does seems to revert to the extensive reform package, passed unanimously at an Extraordinary Session in Monte Carlo back in December 2014.

A persistent criticism of Agenda 2020 is that, to many, it seems to be mere rhetoric - a lot of words without any real substance - and Fürjes is all too aware of that. He is astutely aware of how to play up to the message, but then again, so are the other three of his counterparts.

“I think there’s a reason why the IOC decided to launch Agenda 2020,” he said. “Basically it is about change and I think Budapest fits into that.

“The Olympic Games in Budapest would definitely make a change and the IOC could definitely make an impact.

“We are following the path that has been opened by the IOC and let’s make Agenda 2020 real – let’s prove that it actually works and let’s put it into action."

For all the perceived negatives surrounding their attempt to bring the world’s most grandiose of sporting spectacles to the country for the first time in its history, the bid comes with a lot of pros. The fact that the River Danube, an integral part of the city and the residents' way of life, could be used to transport athletes provides an element of fascination, while the compactness of the plan is another plus point.

Of course, that didn’t prove enough for Almaty to win the 2022 Winter Olympics - they lost out to Beijing, a city which struggles with snowfall - but there are other gems in the Budapest crown.

The passion and fervour the locals have for the bid must be music to the ears of the Committee and their partners and stakeholders alike; they have such energy and belief, with their troubled past serving as a reminder that the future need not be so bleak. They’ve emerged stronger and that is only changing for the better, with the city now a buzzing hub for tourism underpinned by a series of picturesque landmarks draped across the Budapest canvas.

Back in December, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban gave a rousing speech at the Ceremonial General Assembly of the Hungarian Olympic Committee, which was celebrating its 120th anniversary, detailing how a successful bid in 2024 would have particular poignancy for the city. In reference to the country gaining independence from Soviet rule in 1989, he declared: “Twenty twenty-four will be 35 years after we shook off the shackles of oppression and celebrated our freedom.”

Such an aspect is also not enough to swing the IOC Members’ vote your way, but it is something Paris and Los Angeles are keen on highlighting, with 2024 being exactly 100 years since the French capital last hosted the Games and 40 since the American city had the same honour.

The use of temporary venues would also get the green light from Bach and the IOC as it will help to keep costs at a minimum, while avoiding the dreaded white elephant scenarios we have seen in Athens and Beijing. 

By giving the Games to Budapest, the IOC would certainly set a precedent. In truth, they are probably reticent to make such a bold move, and for all the hype which has been evident over the last few days in particular, we are a long way from seeing it happen. In fact, few have given them any chance at all.

Furjes, however, remains absolutely certain they can win. “Definitely, that’s an easy question,” he replies.

Will you win? “We have our plans, we have our game plans," he says. "It is a long competition, a marathon run in a sprint mode, and the finish is in Lima in 2017.

“I want to be there.”

The road to the Peruvian capital starts now for Budapest 2024, but the path to glory for the beautiful Hungarian city perhaps remains too distant for us to realistically entertain.