With 35 days until the Opening Ceremony on 12 May, the Azerbaijan Islamic Solidarity Games Operations Committee (AISGOC) has unveiled the medals that the athletes competing at the Baku 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games will be striving to win.

A specially commissioned set of the medals were presented to Abdullah Bin Mosaad Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, President of the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF), by Azad Rahimov, Minister of Youth and Sports and CEO of Baku 2017, at a commemorative event which took place on April 6, shortly after the Baku 2017 sports draw.

The central theme of the gold, silver and bronze medal design, which includes the Baku 2017 logo at its centre, revolves around the Islamic and cultural iconography found in traditional Azerbaijani carpet patterns.

These elements, which are symbolic of the country’s heritage and often celebrate significant moments in history, have been elegantly interwoven to create a visual representation of the core values of the Baku 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games - solidarity, unity, respect and excellence.

The reverse face of the medal features the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation emblem.

The medals, which were produced locally by Azersuvenir in collaboration with the design team of Baku 2017, measure 80mm in diameter and are 9mm in thickness.

The Games will feature international athletes from all ISSF member countries, competing in 20 sports over 10 days of sporting competition. Around 500,000 spectators are expected to attend the Baku 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games, which will include an Opening and Closing ceremonies at the Baku Olympic Stadium.

Speaking about the unveiling of the medal design, Azad Rahimov, said: “The unveiling of the Baku 2017 medal design is another significant milestone in our journey to delivering these Games. These medals will message the main values of the Islamic Solidarity Games - peace, respect, excellence and unity to the world and will be present to the best athletes.”

“The Baku 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games will gather athletes from all faiths and nationalities in a spirit of peace and respect,” said Abdullah Bin Mosaad Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

The Baku 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games is an exciting multi-sport event uniting the Islamic world, which will take place from 12 – 22 May 2017.

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) in 16 world-class sporting venues in Baku.

Azerbaijan’s capital city Baku was awarded the Games at the General Assembly of the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF) in Jeddah in July 2013.