Azerbaijan may host more grandiose competitions

/By AzerNews/

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan may host another large-scale sports competition in its capital of Baku in the future, according to Chingiz Huseynzade, the vice-president of the National Olympic Committee.

After the impressive Opening Ceremony of the 1st Baku 2015 European Games on June 12, the newly-built National Olympic Stadium has attracted much attention from the sporting community.

The Baku 2015 European Games, which has received some 6,000 athletes from 50 countries throughout Europe, is a first-of-its-kind tournament.

The competition features twenty sporting events, 16 of which are Olympic, while the other four—karate, basketball 3x3, beach soccer, and sambo—are new sports to this format.

Huseynzade, who is also the president of the National Athletics Federation, stressed that the stadium is able to host many major athletics competitions.

“Now, the negotiations with the European Athletics Association are underway. Seeing the beauty of the national stadium, the organization’s officials proposed to conduct competitions among young men, youth and adults here,” he said.

The vice president noted that while it is still early to say anything, all will be clarified after next years calendar is released.

Huseynzade went on to say that the Olympic Stadium, which has also hosted athletics competitions alongside the opening ceremony, may also be a venue for the World Championship.

“I mean the ‘Diamond League’ stage and even the World Cup. The presidential elections of the International Association of Athletics Federations (?AAF) will be held in China's capital, Beijing this August. Following the appointment of the organization’s new head, we will talk with him about holding largest athletics events in Baku in future,” he said.

The multi-purpose stadium is located on Boyukshor Lake on the way from Baku airport and contains a variety of sports facilities, including a running track. The six-storey stadium provides special seating for the disabled and VIP.

It stretches across 50 hectares with a height of 62 meters and has some 3,100 parking spaces. The facility consists of a main and some auxiliary stadiums and an auxiliary building.

Huseynzada said that the stadium is also able to accommodate the Olympic Games: “The stadium is ready for holding opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games.”

In accordance with the requirements of the International Olympic Committee, an arena, hosting such major events, must contain no less than 80 thousand spectators.

The Baku Olympic Stadium has the capacity to hold 68,000 spectators, but the vice president explained: “The arena was designed so that, if necessary, the number of seats may be increased adding additional stands."