Baku 2015 expects some 40,000 spectators on Day 11
By Nigar Orujova
Some 40,000 spectators are expected to attend the European Games in all sports categories on June 22, said Baku 2015 Chief Operating Officer Simon Clegg at a press conference in Baku.
“We have archery, athletics, shooting, and sambo to complete in the respective venues today,” said Clegg.
The Baku 2015 European Games is an innovative competition that has gathered over 6,000 athletes from 50 countries to compete in 20 sports. Twelve sports are officially recognized as qualifiers for 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
On June 21, in total there were 48,811 spectators, which is the highest number of spectators so far attending 19 sport sessions held at 10 different venues, according to Clegg. The level of attendance is usually at 86 percent on average.
With regard to the road races that took place on June 20-21, Clegg mentioned that the images of those competitions that spread around the world were incredibly powerful and demonstrated the beauty of Baku, and the Old City in particular.
Two other venues—National Gymnastics arena and Water Polo Arena—have completed all of their respective competitions on June 21, Clegg said.
He also noted that Azerbaijan continues to do extremely well in the medal table by maintaining second place.
Baku 2015 gladden their fans
Due to the heightened interest in the Games, Baku 2015 has made additional tickets available for eight sporting events, since the final sessions of seven sport disciplines had been sold out.
With just over eight days of world-class competition remaining of the inaugural European Games, the final sessions of 3x3 Basketball, BMX, Boxing, Diving, Gymnastics, Swimming and Volleyball have all been sold out.
Additional tickets have been released for several sessions of 3x3 Basketball (preliminary rounds), Beach Soccer, Diving (preliminary rounds), Judo, Sambo, Swimming (preliminary rounds), Volleyball (preliminary rounds) and Water Polo.
Since the beginning of the Games, an average of 13,000 tickets have been sold every day for sessions across the 20 sports.
Earlier, speaking about the increasing demand for tickets Azad Rahimov, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Youth and Sports and Chief Executive Officer of Baku 2015, said: “The response from the people of Azerbaijan to the European Games has been fantastic. We have been delighted with the number of fans at the venues and the support they have given to all the athletes, especially those from Azerbaijan.”
“As we enter the second week of the Games, we are looking forward to welcoming record crowds to venues across Baku and encourage everyone to make sure they are a part of this historic sporting event.”
Those who are interested in attending an even, please refer to the Baku 2015 Spectator Information Center.
To purchase any remaining tickets for sports events please visit www.baku2015.com or any one of the ticket outlets across Baku and at the venues.
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Nigar Orujova is AzerNews’s staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @o_nigar
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