EOC happy with facilities established for European Games
By Nigar Orujova
The European Olympic Committees has expressed satisfaction with all facilities designed in Baku for the first European Games, Patrick Hickey, President of the EOC, said in Baku on February 6.
A delegation from the EOC Coordination Commission is on official
visit in Baku on February 5-6.
"We are very happy with all the objects that we have seen here. It
is not a surprise for me, since I come here regularly. However, my
colleagues who have not been here for two or three months, were
amazed with the facilities created so far," he said.
Hickey thanked Azerbaijan and Baku 2015 First European Games Organizing Committee for the welcome and reception ceremonies in Baku.
He expressed his gratitude to Mehriban Aliyeva, Azerbaijan’s First Lady and Chairperson of BEGOC for the great attention and interest in the work, as well as for her enormous contribution to the design of the uniforms of the volunteers.
"I also want to thank President Ilham Aliyev, who is also the president of the Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan. He showed great interest in these games," Hickey stressed.
The EOC head also expressed gratitude to Sport and Youth Minister Azad Rahimov.
Fifty National Olympic Committees of Europe will participate in the first European Games in Baku, he said.
As the biggest sporting event in Azerbaijan's history, the Baku 2015 European Games will attract more than 6,000 athletes to compete in 20 sports.
The Games will take place in 21 stadiums and facilities in Baku and Mingachevir city. The official opening ceremony of the games will take place in the 68,000-seat Baku Olympic Stadium. The Athletes Village will accommodate up to 7,300 people.
There is no doubt that Baku will deliver excellent games creating a glorious history not only for Azerbaijan, but also for the European sports, said Spyros Capralos, the EOC Coordination Commission’s Chair.
“I think we will have a fantastic opening ceremony and great games,” he added.
In his speech, Capralos thanked everyone who works on the preparations for the European Games.
The coordination commission visited the European games park and saw how in a very short time so much works have been accomplished, Capralos said, adding that the preparations for the games have advanced much since the last time.
“We will have the visits of smaller groups and more technical visits because we need to focus on the details,” he added. “Now the focus should be changed and turned to testing the readiness. The European Olympic Committees is offering full support to this,” he said.
Capralos also praised the Baku Shooting Center, saying that in his opinion it is the best center in the world today, adding that after the games, Azerbaijan will be able to bid for other major multi-sport events.
“It will not be just the games, but a legacy for the country,” he stressed.
He said the games will be a great legacy for Azerbaijan in terms of infrastructure, but more importantly, the human factor – the people who are working in the organizing committee and people who are volunteers, suppliers, constructors and people who are dealing with these games.
“Everybody here in Azerbaijan will benefit from these games,” Capralos stressed.
He also said that the experience in holding the Olympic Games was used in the preparations for the European Games.
“But we took some things and made them more flexible,” Capralos added. “We selected the sports according to the needs of the organizer, according the venues which they have.”
Final visit
The final visit also included the fifth meeting of the commission, a high-level body of delegates charged with overseeing progress towards the inaugural European Games.
Commission members were briefed on preparations made by each Baku 2015 directorate. In addition, they took a tour along the Games Route Network and visited venues including the Baku Shooting Center, Mountain Bike Velopark, Heydar Aliyev Arena, and a drive-by of the European Games Park.
They also attended the opening ceremony of the Baku 2015 Uniform Distribution and Accreditation Center, where participants in the Nar Mobile-supported Flamekeeper volunteer programme will register and collect their uniforms.
“We now have a little more than four months until the Opening Ceremony. There remains much to do, but the momentum we have built will not falter for a second,” Minister Rahimov said on February 6.
“We will spare no effort in ensuring that the first European Games are an inspirational celebration of sport and friendship for the whole continent,” he added.
Simon Clegg, Chief Operating Officer of Baku 2015, said: “With 126 days to go before the start of the European Games, we are now entering the final straight, and the visit by the EOC Coordination Commission has been an excellent opportunity to update members on our progress and take stock of what we have achieved so far.”
“The Games will be a historic occasion for Azerbaijan and Europe, and we intend to continue working hard to deliver on our commitment to stage a world-class event until the very last guest leaves after the Closing Ceremony,” he stressed.
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Nigar Orujova is AzerNews’s staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @o_nigar
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