Today Baku officially presents medals for the first European Games Baku 2015. The medals are being produced at the moment. There will be more than 2 thousand of them. The first European Games will take place in Baku on June 12-28. However, they are causing interest even today. Vestnik Kavkaza presents an article published in the American magazine Foreign Affairs.
In June 2015, Azerbaijan will host the very first European Games—a new format of a major multisport event for the entire continent, created at the December 2012 General Assembly of the European Olympic Committees—in its capital city of Baku. No other European nation had exhibited quite the same level of preparedness as Azerbaijan.
This will be a unique opportunity for Azerbaijan to showcase the country and to make ‘Baku 2015’ the standard for all future European Games. Azad Rahimov, Minister of Youth and Sports and CEO of the Baku 2015 European Games Operations Committee (BEGOC), notes that “it is very important for us to deliver the message to the world that Azerbaijan can achieve international sporting excellence and leave a strong legacy. Azerbaijan will deliver a firstclass event that will create positive memories and excellent facilities to inspire not only Azerbaijanis, but also future countries hosting the event.”
The Baku 2015 European Games will be the largest multisport event ever to be held in Azerbaijan, even if the country has past experience in organizing large cultural events. A total of twenty sports will be represented at the Games, including sixteen Olympic sports. More than six thousand athletes from forty-nine nations are expected to take part in seventeen days of competition.
The Games are being given full government support. Azerbaijan’s First Lady, Mehriban Aliyeva, chairs the organizing committee that manages the event, in cooperation with the Baku City Executive Power and the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan. “We now have more than 1,000 people working for the Baku 2015 European Games, and this number will eventually increase to 1,500,” says Minister Rahimov. This includes international experts who have been recruited to ensure the highest level of professionalism.
Built to Last
“To facilitate the European Games, Azerbaijan and especially Baku are undergoing huge changes,” says Minister Rahimov. “Preparations include the upgrading and modernization of existing sporting infrastructure, as well as the construction of new venues.” A total of eighteen venues will be made available for the competition, including five new constructions: the Baku Aquatics Center, the National Gymnastics Arena, the BMX Velopark, the Baku Shooting Center, and the Baku National Stadium.
The long-term legacy of these investments is important for Azerbaijan. “We are not constructing new sport facilities that will become useless after the main event,” says Minister Rahimov. The National Stadium, for example, is a modern, multi-purpose venue that was planned well before the European Games and will be used as premium football stadium, seating 68,000 spectators. Similarly, other venues are planned to fill gaps in the current infrastructure, such as the new Aquatics Center, which will give Baku citizens free access to first-class swimming facilities.
Making Sports a Priority
The government’s careful approach to sporting infrastructure reflects a broader policy to develop athletic facilities across the country. “We have invested heavily in sports infrastructure,” confirms Minister Rahimov. “In the past fourteen years we have constructed forty-one Olympic complexes in various regions of the country. This offers great opportunities especially for young people, taking into account that 66 percent of Azerbaijan’s population is under thirty-five years of age.”
Worldclass sporting events such as the European Games give impetus to providing the Azerbaijani youth with top-standard sports venues. This creates perfect ground for Azerbaijan’s next generation of athletes and strengthens the country’s credentials as a sporting nation. Neither does Azerbaijan’s program end with the European Games. In 2017, Azerbaijan will host the Islamic Solidarity Games, drawing athletes from fifty-seven countries. And for 2020, Baku was selected to host games of the UEFA Euro Football Championships, with one quarter-final and three group stage matches to be played at the new National Stadium.
