Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Baku 2015 European Games will cooperate with the French National Olympic Committee and the Sentez-Vous Sport festival.

The cooperation is aimed to encourage people to take a more active lifestyle. The festival will take place across France on September 13-21.

The event, now in its fifth year, will be held in schools, universities and businesses with the support of the country's National Olympic Committee and all of the French sporting federations.

The aim of Sentez-Vous Sport is to promote sport as part of a healthy lifestyle and encourage more people to take up regular physical activities through educational workshops.

Baku 2015 will be connected with all communications through TV promotions, social media and print media in France.

Six of Azerbaijan's medalists at the recent Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing will also represent their country at the event.

Said Guliyev (taekwondo gold), Teymur Mammadov and Igbal Hajizada (wrestling gold), Jabbar Najafov and Leyla Gurbanova (wrestling silver) and Nazim Babayev (triple jump bronze) will visit the French National Institute of Sport and Physical Education and attend sporting events in France.

Azerbaijan's Minister of Youth and Sports and Chief Executive of Baku European Games Operation Committee Azad Rahimov said Sentez-Vous Sport is an innovative way of encouraging more people to make sport a central part of their lifestyle.

"With 66 percent of the population under the age of 35, Azerbaijan's current young generation is very enthusiastic about sport and in the future, we would like to replicate this outstanding initiative in our own country," he added.

More than 100 sports will be represented, and ambassadors include basketball player Tony Parker, four-time NBA champion and European Champion, and Laure Manaudou, who won swimming gold at the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics.

The campaign targets different age groups on different days of the week, using workshops and activities to introduce people to new sports and physical exercises.

President of the National Olympic Committee of France Denis Masseglia said: "We are delighted to welcome Azerbaijan and Baku 2015 to this initiative and their support will encourage and reinforce our efforts to develop Sentez-Vous Sport as a way of energising our nation."

In turn, Baku 2015 Chief Operating Officer Simon Clegg said this is a wonderful opportunity for Baku 2015 European Games to help promote sport and raise awareness of the Games in another part of the continent.

"France is a major European sporting power and to support Sentez-Vous Sport in their work is a link to the desire to leave a legacy of healthy living in Azerbaijan after the Games," he said.

Baku 2015 will be the first European Games, an exciting and innovative new multi-sport event for the continent, which will take place in June 12-28, 2015.

There games will include a total of 20 sports that will gather more than 6,000 athletes.