On the Record: Azerbaijan Sports Leaders on Baku 2015

(ATR) The time is short to prepare for the 2015 European Games, but two of Azerbaijan’s sports leaders say the country is ready for the challenge.

Just one year ago, the European Olympic Committees voted to launch the new event staged every four years. At the same time the EOC also agreed to give booming Baku the chance to play host.

The Azerbaijan capital has not been shy about its desire to host world-class sports events, including the Olympics. Baku was an early bidder for 2016 and 2020, but failed to make the final cut.

Nonetheless Baku and Azerbaijan have been recognized for taking sport to a new level at the far eastern edge of Europe. For the past 10 years sports minister Azad Rahimov and colleague Chingiz Huseynzade vice president of the Azerbaijan National Olympic Committee have led these efforts.

They spoke with ATR Editor Ed Hula last month in Baku.

Around the Rings: How do you feel about your preparations for the European Games?

Azad Rahimov: I’m really very happy. I’m very satisfied that the work done within this short period by the Baku 2015 committee/operating company was so highly valued by the coordination commission experts and the members of cocom.They measured that it’s a great success and really great work was done within the last 200 days after the first coordination commission meeting. That makes us very happy because we’re on the right track and delivering the right messages. That’s the highest benchmark we achieved by the feedback coming in.

ATR: Is there anything they say you could be doing better, are there ways to improve your operation?

AR: Of course, we are focused on the athletes of these games. For the athletes, it’s important to have world-class accommodations and equipment for the games. Cocom gave us notice of this, so we’ll be sure to focus more on the athletes. The second issue is the transport system. This city has a huge population, and our goal will be to keep the city happy and avoid creating any problems in traffic and congestion.

ATR: But the games aren’t that big. True, there are 5400 athletes, but there are only 18 sports with venues and clusters around the cities. It should be possible to make that happen, don’t you think?

AR: Apart from the quantity of the athletes and the location of the clusters, we have such sports like cycling or triathlons where you have to close the main streets of the city. That will always create problems for the population. That’s why our goal is to make trains, buses, and other sorts of public transportation, so as not to damage the road system and lets both athletes and spectators reach their destinations in a timely manner.

ATR: Could you use more time? When you got into this project last year and agreed to do the games, did you really understand how short your window of time would be to prepare for this event?

AR: I think we knew from the very beginning that time was short, this didn’t surprise any of us. But I can say that, by using this fantastic, talented team, we eliminated some preparation periods and we are more focused on the real, daily work rather than investigations and strategies. That shows through the people in sport or people organizing the huge sport event. Sometimes, people can achieve something in a shorter time using that good experience, like we’re trying to do.

ATR: You hired some people from outside of Azerbaijan, such as CEO Jim Scherr. Why did you go to people outside of Azerbaijan?

AR: Azerbaijan has never hosted such a big event, and while Azerbaijan’s population is amongst the brightest in the world, many people here have never organized technology or transportation for something of this scale. For that reason, we have invited a very professional staff to Baku, headed by Jim Scherr to teach and train local people for the future of both sporting events and bigger events. It’s a legacy we’re trying to achieve with training and education.

ATR: You’re not building a lot for these games. There are a few new venues but was it important to have existing venues to use?

AR: The model from the very beginning was to base on existing sport venues, focus on multifunctional sport or concept venues, to use temporary venues, and build any remaining venues. Many of the venues that are under construction at the moment were under construction before thedecisionof the European Games. The rest of the venues are based on existing ones, and we are making repairs and refurbishments.

ATR:So there’s not a big construction budget? Do you have a budget you’re following for these games?

AR: We have the construction budget, which is part of a preexisting social investment budget for the country, and we have the budget of the operating company which includes a central budget, an operating budget, and a transportation budget. We have many figures in mind, and the model of the budget will be ready very soon for government approval .

ATR: You were disappointed a year ago when you didn’t make the short list for the 2020 Olympics. Do you think there’s a chance for another Azerbaijan bid in the future?

AR: I don’t think that disappointment over the bid means one is out of the race for the future. All of the bids we participated in 2016 and 2020 were a good way to see what we have in terms of infrastructure, sport, and experience. Bidding is also an excellent way to position ourselves as a country on the map of the world. Continuation of the efforts is very good.

ATR: What about the challenge in finding sponsors and selling TV rights?

AR: We have a very good broadcast team headed by Manolo Romero. Part of the contract with him involves selling broadcastingrights. Domestic sponsorship will be discussed by our own, because we know the companies and we know who supports sport in the country, we know the companies with good sponsor relations with the sport and we will base our decision upon that.

ATR: With such strong government support for the games, why do you need sponsors? What will sponsors bring to the games?

AR: You can have 100 percent government support, but any dollar saved by the government is a dollar that the people can use. It’s also a chance to inspire people, by showing them good business in the country and the chance to make a huge profit. There is an opportunity to inspire people not to focus only on their own personal ambitions, but to focus on the future of the country, of the city, and of sport. We can educate future business people not just to earn money, but to be part of society, of the social life of the country.

ATR: Chingiz Huseynzade, as Azerbaijan NOC vice president, what does the European Games mean for the NOC and Baku athletes to have an event like this in their country?

Chingiz Huseynzade: The NOC was essential in getting the bid for the European games, when Azerbaijan was bidding for the 2020 Olympic Games.

In the past we tried to prepare infrastructure, that’s why we use this chance to participate in this bid because we want to show everyone we can host this size of games and we invest into sports.

Two years ago, before the last decisions of the European Olympic Committees, they sent a question to NOC: would they think about such kinds of games and about the readiness of Azerbaijan?

The question was about the date (2015 or 2017), the proper days, and would you like to participate as a host city or country? We sent our answer that we propose to do 2015 and we are ready to host such kind of games. Regarding the program, there are some sports that are not popular in Baku, for example, triathlon, and there are program for development of these sports in the country.

Azerbaijan has never had the opportunity to participate in games without qualifications before. It’s a chance for our athletes to participate in these games and to have a world participation in these kinds of sports.

It gives us a chance to increase the value of our Olympic movement. It will help us to unite population through one idea and development of sports

ATR: The games may be good for Baku, but are they also good for Azerbaijan?

Azad Rahimov: We are proud to say that from the last two Olympic Games, we have Olympic champions. Last year, we had world champions, European champs, and regional champs. We are not just focused on athletes and Baku, we are thinking about the whole country. Guests will be coming from the regions for the events to sit down, watch, and get inspired.

Conducted by Ed Hula.

Transcription and editing by Andrew Murrell.

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