Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix to be held in summer
By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade
The next Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix is planned to be held in Baku in June 2020, Azad Rahimov, Azerbaijani Minister of Youth and Sports, told journalists on July 26.
“The new Formula 1 schedule has not yet been made public. Most likely, the schedule will be approved on June 7 of the coming year,” he said.
Formula 1 SOCAR Azerbaijan Grand Prix started from F1 training sessions which were followed by qualification on April 27 and the main race on April 28. Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes took the first place at SOCAR Azerbaijan Grand Prix Formula 1 Race in Baku. Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes came in second, followed by Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari.
Speaking about Baku 2019 Summer European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF), Rahimov stated that Azerbaijan expects more medals at the event.
“I would very much like Azerbaijan to win medals in an even greater number of sports at this festival. Two days remain until the end of the festival. Azerbaijan is in the second place by the number of medals. I would like Azerbaijan to remain in the top-5 until the end of the competition,” he said.
Baku 2019 Summer European Youth Olympic Festival is underway in Baku from July 21 to 27. The festival is attended by 3,900 athletes from 48 European countries. Fifty-two percent of the participants are males, and 48 percent are females. Athletes are competing for 135 sets of medals. A total of 930 medals are prepared for the winners, including 300 gold, 300 silver and 330 bronze medals.
Currently Azerbaijan is second in the medal table with the 9 gold, 7 silver and 6 bronze medals. The national team follows Russia which is the leader of medal ranking with the impressive 21 gold, 11 silver and 16 bronze medals.
Azad Rahimov also told journalists that the model of Azerbaijan’s youth policy has been adopted by the UN and given as an example to other countries. He added that many important projects have been implemented in the field of youth work in the past 25 years and there have also been great successes in sports.
“Baku hosted the most prestigious events. Azerbaijani athletes won lots of medals at these events and competitions. I think that there will be even more success in the future,” Rahimov pointed out.
Speaking of the idea of holding European Youth Olympic Festival, Azad Rahimov said that the initiative was proposed by Jacques Rogge, the eighth President of the International Olympic Committee, from 2001 to 2013. It was aimed at increasing awareness of youth about Olympic movement, Olympic values and ideas.
The minister stressed that the festival is considered one of quite significant events in the field of sports so the choice of Azerbaijan to host EYOF Baku 2019 is the sign of the high appreciation given to the country.
Rahimov also emphasized Azerbaijan’s joining main international documents in the field of sports.
“Great successes have also been achieved in the integration of Azerbaijani youth into the International Youth Movement. The youth organizations of the country join the youth programs of the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, the EU, etc., participate in joint projects, conduct systematic events with young people of the CIS and other countries. Some of these events are organized in Baku,” he stated.
Rahimov emphasized that on September 15, 2017, by order of President Ilham Aliyev, the next state program "Azerbaijani youth in 2017-2021" was approved and this program is aimed at further effective implementation of youth policy in the country.
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Mirsaid Ibrahimzade is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @MirsaidIbrahim1
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