Ilham Aliyev officially opens Baku 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games

By  Trend

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has officially declared the Baku 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games open.

More than 3,000 athletes from 54 countries, nearly 2,000 representatives of teams and technical staff are participating in the Games.

Competitions are held in Azerbaijan’s capital on 16 sports grounds in 21 kinds of sports – 17 Olympic ones and three non-Olympic ones. Athletes will compete for 269 sets of medals.

Azerbaijan is represented by 325 athletes at the Games. The biggest delegation was sent by Turkey – 345 athletes. Iran ranks third for the number of athletes participating in the Games with 300 athletes.

The Islamic Solidarity Games is a multisport and multinational event, conducted by the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF). The first Islamic Solidarity Games took place in 2005 in Saudi Arabia.

The decision to hold the Islamic Solidarity Games in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, was made in July 2013 at the ISSF General Assembly in Jeddah.