Patrick Hickey: we will dive into great heritage of Azerbaijan during First European Games

The Athletes Village hosted a conference of the Organizing Committee of the Games today. The President of the European Olympic Committee, Patrick Hickey, said that Europe simply had no choice, after Africa, Asia, America and Oceania organized similar continental competitions. "We have tried to organize the Games so that it becomes a happy event for 50 European countries and an important stage in the life of European athletics, and we are sure that we've done so," the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza reports Patrick Hickey as saying.

According to Hickey, the culture of Azerbaijan has had a great influence on the First European games. "I think we should keep this European flavor. I would not like it if Russia dispensed with caviar, Greece with ouzo, Ireland with 'Guinness', Germany with German sausages, and so on. So I think every European country that will host the Games will bring its personality to the organization of the competitions. During the first Games we will dive into the great heritage of this beautiful country, Azerbaijan," the President of the EOC said.

He also noted that the holding of First European Games in Baku will allow Azerbaijan to take a confident step towards the Summer Olympics. "The Games will leave all the necessary infrastructure and trained staff, so Baku will be in a very advantageous position in the eyes of the International Olympic Committee," Patrick Hickey noted.

Hickey expressed gratitude to Azerbaijan’s First Lady, the chair of the Baku 2015 European Games Organizing Committee, Mehriban Aliyeva, and Azerbaijan's Minister of Youth and Sports Azad Rahimov. "They have done a fantastic job with the team working on the Games to make sure that it will be a great period here with some truly spectacular sport," he said.

"Of the 6000 athletes we have here, there are 150 Olympic medalists and 200 world champions, which is a great indication of the high level of the athletes. And there will be a total of 20 sports at Baku 2015," Hickey reminded.

He noted that when they had the idea of the Olympic Games, they only saw it as an experiment. "And now we have 6000 athletes and 20 sports.You will see great sports performances in the coming days," the head of the European Olympic Committee promised.

"900 media outlets have been accredited to cover the Games, and it's a phenomenal achievement for the first Games. It shows the great interest of the press in these Games," Hickey said.

Greek Olympic Committee President Spyros Capralos also thanked the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the First European Games, Mehriban Aliyeva, for the extremely high technical organization of all the procedures related to the Games. Spyros Capralos expressed gratitude to the organizers, who were able to prepare everything in a short time.

He spoke about the non-Olympic disciplines which will be presented in Baku. "We have new sports which are not included on the list of the Olympic Games: karate, beach soccer, basketball 3x3, sambo [self-defense without weapons] and new disciplines in gymnastics," Сapralos said.

He also spoke about the infrastructure of First European Games. "The places where you can watch the major events of the Games were created in the city. They are located in the center of the city, and every resident of Baku will be able to watch it for free," the representative of the Greek delegation said.

Finally, the perfect conditions have been created for the main participants of the Games – the athletes. "The athletes will play a major role at the Games. The organizers built great sports facilities for them, and everything is ready to start a celebration," the Greek Olympic Committee President said.

"On behalf of the European Olympic Committee I would like to wish you all good luck. We hope that everyone will be watching these games, not only in Baku, not only in Europe, but around the world. I am confident that the competitions will be held at the highest level," Capralos concluded.