Baku 2015 Marks 100 Days to First European Games

(ATR) As Baku 2015 ramps up preparations, the EOC's inspection chief says the "devil is in the detail" and concerns are voiced about human rights violations.

Celebrations to mark the milestone are being held Wednesday in the Azerbaijan capital and Rome, where the European Olympic Committees is headquartered.

NOCs across Europe will also stage organized events to mark the 100 days to go milestone.

Spyros Capralos, head of the EOC’s coordination commission for Baku 2015, tells Around the Rings that "plenty of challenges" remain for organizers of the inaugural European Games, which opens June 12.

"It’s now moved into operational mode ... the delivery of venues, they have to do fitout and overlay, put people inside and operate them," he said.

He said the EOC was following every aspect of preparations "very closely" to ensure the first edition of the games went as smoothly as possible. Since Baku was awarded Europe’s first major multisports event in December 2012,

organizers have been rushing at breakneck speed to deliver the Games.

"We constantly have a group of people watching closely to make sure everything is ready for June 12," he said, noting that various EOC experts would be visiting the host city in the run-up to the event to resolve issues.

"The devil is in the detail, as I always say. We need to make sure every little detail is taken care of."

The president of the Greek Olympic committee will head to Baku in April to assess the progress of preparations with his own eyes one final time just weeks before the curtain is raised on the event.

Asked if there were any particular issues or concerns to be tackled in the coming weeks, he said: "No specific focus. But we need to make sure the results system is working and venue teams are in place and know what to do to transition from one sport to another is very important."

Any issues with the city’s transport system, so critical for athletes, officials and spectators, would need to be ironed out.

"We are not concerned because many of these things have been tested ... we cannot afford to have any mistakes," he said.

On Wednesday, the First Lady of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva, is taking part in the EOC’s celebrations in Rome, a guest of honor at the grand gala organized by Azerbaijan's ambassador to Italy.

She will join EOC president Pat Hickey, Capralos,EOC secretary general Raffaele Pagnozzi and Italian Olympic Committee officials, among other dignatories, at the dinner at the Galleria Nazionale di Arte Moderna.

In Baku, senior Games officials will take part in a 100 days to go press conference at the Fairmont hotel.

Also Wednesday is the start of the latest test event for the Games. The Open Joint Azerbaijan Championship in Gymnastics runs from March 4 to 6 at the National Gymnastics Arena.

Human Rights Concerns

Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch raised concerns about Azerbaijan’s poor human rights record to coincide with the 100-day countdown. HRW called on the Azerbaijani government to release all wrongly detained activists and journalists, highlighting the plight of 12 people serving or facing long prison terms in Azerbaijan, allegedly in retaliation for criticizing government policies.

"As the first country to hold this new major European sporting event, Azerbaijan is looking to project a progressive, modern image internationally," said Jane Buchanan, a European and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

"If the European Games are to show that sport can leave a positive legacy, then every journalist and activist detained on politically motivated charges in Azerbaijan should be released well before the opening ceremony."

The human rights pressure group urged European leaders to communicate to Baku that they will not send high-level delegations to the opening ceremony "unless those wrongly imprisoned are released and the crackdown on dissent

ends."

HRW said that in the past year, Azerbaijani authorities have used a range of bogus criminal charges, including narcotics and weapons possession, tax evasion, hooliganism, incitement, and even treason, to arrest or imprison at least 35 human rights defenders, political and civil activists, journalists and bloggers.

Reported by Mark Bisson

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