Baku 2015 Receives Blessing of European NOCs

(ATR) The final coordination commission visit to Baku, Azerbaijan revealed all venues will be ready for the inaugural European Games in 2015.

Commission chairman Spyros Capralos said Baku is "well on track to host [the] Games," to news outlet France Jeux.

"The organizing committee has entered the last phase of the preparation," Capralos said.

"Every day counts. I am very confident everything will be perfectly ready for the opening of the European Games."

European national Olympic committees will make their last visit to the Azeri capital on Feb. 12-14 to familiarize themselves with the city and venues.

"The games will mark a milestone in our progress as an independent and forward-looking member of the European family," Mehriban Aliyeva, BEGOC chairperson, said to Azerbaijan news outlet AzerNews.

"We accepted the honor and responsibility of staging these inaugural games, and today and tomorrow you will see that your trust in us has not been misplaced."

Chief operating officer Simon Clegg says that broadcast rights have been sold to 133 countries. There will be an average of "five hours of broadcasting a day," and a deal with a United States-based broadcaster is close.

"Though we are fully on schedule, we know that there is no time for complacency, and that each day counts in fine-tuning our preparations," Azad Rahimov, Azerbaijan’s Youth and Sports Minister, told AzerNews.

"We are on track to deliver an infrastructure worthy of sporting events of the highest caliber, and I am sure that this will be the case in Baku this summer."

Baku will host the inaugural European Games in June with around 6,000 athletes participating in 20 sports.

Written by Aaron Bauer

Homepage photo: Getty Images

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