On the picture Mr. Azad Rahimov, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Youth and Sports and Baku 2015 Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Mehriban Aliyeva, First Lady of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Chair of the Baku 2015 European Games Organising Committee, and Mr. Patrick Hickey, President of the European Olympic Committees opening the final EOC Coordination Commission visit to Baku. ©BEGOC
The first edition of the European Games will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, between June 12-28 2015. This large-scale event will welcome 6,000 athletes from 50 National Olympic Committees of Europe, competing in 20 sports.
According to senior figures at the leading National Olympic Committees (NOC’s) of Europe, the Baku 2015 European Games is expected to be the biggest multi-sport event on the European calendar this year and the ideal proving ground for athletes ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The Games will take place in 21 stadiums and facilities in Baku and the city of Mingachevir. The official opening ceremony of the games will take place in the 68,000-seat Baku Olympic Stadium. The Athletes Village will accommodate up to 7,300 people.
In the beginning of the February this year, Baku has for the 5th time, received EOC Coordination Commission, charged with overseeing progress towards the inaugural European Games.
According to Patrick Hickey, President of the EOC, the European Olympic Committee has expressed satisfaction with all the facilities designed in Baku for the first European Games. He said: “This EOC visit to Baku ahead of the first European Games has confirmed that the city is fully prepared to host an unforgettable event. To have achieved so much in two years is a testament to Azerbaijan’s dedication to hosting the Games, and Europe’s athletes and sport fans will be delighted with the high standard of venues and facilities which await them. Baku 2015 will be the perfect launch-pad for the European Games.”
Hickey thanked Azerbaijan and Baku 2015 First European Games Organizing Committee for the welcome and reception ceremonies in Baku. He expressed his gratitude to Mehriban Aliyeva, Azerbaijan’s First Lady and Chairperson of BEGOC for the great attention and interest in the work, as well as for her enormous contribution to the design of the uniforms of the volunteers, and to the President Ilham Aliyev, who is also the president of the Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan, for showing great interest in the Games.
On February 19, 2015 Baku 2015 European Games also hosted a second briefing for heads of diplomatic missions accredited to Azerbaijan. The event was attended by more than 80 delegates from all 68 diplomatic missions in Azerbaijan, plus a number of non-resident representatives, at the Baku 2015 European Games Operations Committee headquarters. This second diplomatic briefing allowed Baku 2015 staff to update the diplomatic community on the progress towards the upcoming multi-sport event.
The games are also of a great interest to Dutch delegation, who expects a successful participation for the Dutch athletes. According to the Dutch Chef of Mission Jeroen Bijl, he expects a high level participation and NOC * NSF is enthusiastic about the upcoming event and the Netherlands even examines the possibility to host the next European Games in 2019. He believes that the countries participating at the Baku 2015 European Games will take the competition very seriously – just like the Netherlands are.
According to the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the Netherlands Mr. Mir-Hamza Efendiyev, in recent years Azerbaijan has become a platform for many important international events such as the International Humanitarian and Cultural forums, world championships and other various global events. The Games are being given full governmental support. “I am confident the 1st European Games in Baku will set up a high bar for the upcoming editions of this prestigious sporting event”- he said.
