Fourth Islamic Games to selemnly kick off in Baku

The long-awaited day has come for Muslim athletes -- a multinational and multi-sport 4th Islamic Solidarity Games will today solemnly open with participation of 54 countries.

Azerbaijan hopes to follow in the footsteps of Saudi Arabia and Indonesia and top the Islamic Soldarity Games medals table as the host nation.

The Games will involve more than 3,000 elite athletes of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in 20 sports in 17 sports arenas.

The athletes from Islamic countries around the world will be representing their nations over 10 days of competition across 20 different sports which include 23 disciplines (Athletics and Para Athletics, Aquatics – Diving, Aquatics – Swimming, Aquatics – Water Polo, Basketball 3x3, Football, Gymnastics – Artistic, Gymnastics – Rhythmic, Wushu, Table Tennis, Handball, Judo and Blind Judo, Wrestling – Greco, Wrestling – Freestyle, Shooting, Tennis, Volleyball, Boxing, Zurkhaneh, Karate, Taekwondo and Weightlifting).

Meanwhile, the Games warmed up with football, handball and volleyball competitions, which started a few days before the opening ceremony.

The Games will officially kick off on May 12 with a keenly-anticipated Opening Ceremony at Baku's Olympic Stadium.

Catherine Ugwu, Director of Ceremonies and Executive Producer, who is no stranger to the Azerbaijan capital, having performed the same role at the 2015 European Games, insists that this year's show will have a very different flavor.

"We have worked really hard to make the ceremonies distinctly different," she explained. "Both have taken Azerbaijan as a starting point, but whereas with the European Games we very much looked to the West, this time we very much look to the East."

No fewer than 5,000 people have worked on the two-hour Opening Ceremony, which will feature 2,200 local volunteer performers. "It's a very visual, content-driven show," Ugwu promises.

Friday's Opening Ceremony will therefore be another celebration of both Azerbaijani and Islamic culture, with Ugwu stressing that "one of the main things that has informed our ceremony is Azerbaijan itself."

The 4th Islamic Solidarity Games promise to start with a bang, as Azerbaijan aims once again to display its capacity to host elite-level sporting events, and take another step towards the dream of one day welcoming the Olympic Games after two failed bids.

The Islamic Solidarity Games will be a demonstration of peace and unity, Azad Rahimov, Minister of Youth and Sports said at a press conference held on May 11. “A grandiose event will be held in Baku, and the attention of the whole world will be riveted to Azerbaijan,” he added.

The minister noted that the Islamic Solidarity Games are not just a sporting event, but an event that will bring together countries that will speak the same language.

"Unfortunately, Sudan, Libya and Kuwait will not participate in the Games, which is disappointing us. But at the same time, we cannot but rejoice over the participation of over 3,000 athletes from 54 countries. The Games will become a demonstration of peace and unity," Rahimov said. 

Azerbaijan will be represented with a large team, which includes up to 500 athletes, Vice President of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) Chingiz Huseynzade said at the same press conference.

He noted that Azerbaijan expects good results from the Games. "We will try to take the first place in the Games. We believe that at these Games we will have even more medals than in the 1st European Games, Huseynzade said, noting that Azerbaijani athletes have got prepared at a high level for the Games.

Under the presidential order, the victorious national athletes and their coaches will be rewarded. Winners of gold will get 50,000 manats (about $29,700) and their coaches 25,000 manats ($14,800); silver winners and their coaches will receive 30,000 manats ($17,800) and 15,000 manats ($8,900) respectively; while bronze winners will be given 20,000 manats ($11,900), with their coaches taking 10,000 manats ($5,900).

The medal winners and their coaches will also be rewarded by the National Olympic Committee.

Under the order of President of the National Olympic Committee Ilham Aliyev, gold winners and their coaches are offered 50,000 manats and 25,000 manats respectively; silver winners will receive 30,000 manats and their coaches will be paid 15,000 manats; those who win a bronze medal will get 20,000 manats, earning their coaches 10,000 manats.

By the way, all venues for the upcoming 4th Islamic Solidarity Games will be fully accessible for persons with a disability or impairment. Accessibility has been a priority since the very beginning of the development process for the 17 Games venues; from specific drop-off zones to teams specially trained in mobility assistance, Baku 2017 will meet relevant international standards.

The Express Buses will operate between 18:00 and 21:00 to take spectators for the beginning of the Opening Ceremony and from the end of the Opening Ceremony to 02:00. The Spectator Gates will open at 18:30 and the Opening Ceremony will start at 21:00.

And for the Closing Ceremony the Express Buses will operate between 17:00 and 20:00 and from the end of the Ceremony to 02:00. The Spectator Gates will open at 17:30 and the Closing Ceremony will start at 20:00.

Meanwhile the city is ready to host the major event with thousands of people coming to see the Games from around the world. Providing security and stability is of high priority and the law-enforcement bodies have already switched to enhanced mode. 

Appropriate state agencies will work in this mode until the end of May. Alongside with this, Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies established headquarters and working group on cybersecurity to ensure information security and cybersecurity during the event.

Moreover, in connection with the Games, Baku Telephone Communications Production Association has expanded the coverage of free Wi-Fi in the territory of the Baku White City, Sahil Park and park of the Heydar Aliyev Center.

To use the service, one will need to enable the option of Wi-Fi networks detection on his/her mobile device, select ‘Baku loves you’ network and pass through authentication process via the phone number. In the near future, a simplified method of access to the service will be proposed to the users.