Le Matin, France
In 2012, at the regular General Assembly of the European Olympic Committee (EOC), it was decided to hold the first European Games. This year, for the first time, these competitions will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan applied to be a candidate to host the Olympics in 2020, but was not selected by the IOC. The holding of the first European games will become a kind of consolation prize for Baku. Back in 2009, the President of the European Olympic Committee, Patrick Hickey, made a proposal to hold games such as the Asian and Pan-American Games in Europe. 38 of the 49 members of the European Olympic Committee voted in favor of creating those games, eight were against and there were three abstentions.
The first European Games will include two dozen sports events. The Games are going to be held in early summer. "In this period there are a lot of international competitions in Europe," said Denis Masseglia, president of the French Olympic Committee, which supported the creation of the Games. "But we will participate in the first European Games, especially when Baku promises to pay the material cost of flights and accommodation for the participants and delegations." The European Olympic Committee also confirms that Baku provides broad financial support for the Games.
According to Denis Masseglia, the European Games are planned to be held every 4 years like the Olympics, but "the final decision to hold the Games in the future will be made after an evaluation of the first Games in Baku."
Alejandro Blanco, president of the Spanish Olympic Committee, also welcomes the new sports festival, because "Europe is the only continent which does not carry out its own Games." In addition, according to Blanco, "the European Games provide an opportunity for not the most famous and largest cities in Europe to host this event, as well as the Olympic Games in the future. Why not then?"
