The National Television Festival of Sports Films and Program has started in Baku.

The opening ceremony took place at the Azerbaijan State Song Theatre, Azernews reports.

Established by the National Olympic Committee (NOC) in 2022, the festival was first held in 2022 to mark the 30th National Olympic Committee.

The festival aims to popularise various sports, promote a healthy lifestyle, attract children, adolescents, and young people to sports, promote the principles of the Olympic movement, create opportunities for cultural education and a full exchange of experiences between creative people, as well as organise film screenings and sports-themed programs, ensuring wide access to local television and film cultural assets of all sectors of society.

Vice-President of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) Chingiz Huseynzade, the Minister of Youth and Sports Farid Gayibov, Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Mariana Vasilyeva, President of the Paralympic Committee Hidayat Abdullayev, as well as members of the NOC Executive Committee, sports federations, the Paralympic Committee, members of the festival jury, representatives of the sports community, participated in the festival's opening ceremony.

After the performance of the National Anthem of Azerbaijan, a minute of silence was observed to honour the memory of the heroic warriors who died for Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.

Next, the Vice President of the National Olympic Committee and chairman of the festival's organising committee, Chingiz Huseynzade, welcomed the guests of the ceremony. In his speech, he stressed the importance of the festival.

"As you know, the first National Television Festival of Sports Films and Programs was dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the National Olympic Committee. This festival was organised successfully, so we decided to hold it every two years. TV channels, private studios, and creative teams actively participated in this work. We also invited local sports federations to join our ranks. We knew that they also had sufficient experience in this field. We are confident that the second festival will also be successful. Awards to the winners of the festival will be presented on the Day of Physical Education and Sports. I wish that feature films will be made about our athletes who glorify Azerbaijan in the world, proudly raise our tricolour flag, and sing our national anthem. I believe that we will determine the winners in the feature film category at the festival in two years," said Chingiz Huseynzade.

Partner of the Second National Television Festival of Sports Films and Programs, chairman of the Judo Club 2012 Public Association, President of the Azerbaijan Judo Veterans Association, winner of the World and European Championships among judo masters, and member of the Executive Committee of the Azerbaijan Judo Federation, Azer Asgarov, said that Azerbaijan is known worldwide as a sports country, noting that this tradition will further continue. He expressed his gladness to be a partner in the festival organised by the National Olympic Committee.

Speakers at the opening ceremony, including the jury chairman, Olympic champion, Vice President of the National Olympic Committee Zemfira Meftakhetdinova, members of the festival jury, Secretary of the Azerbaijan Film-Makers Union, director, producer Oleg Safaraliyev, Honoured Artist Khanlar Mammadov, member of the legendary KVN team "Guys from Baku," director, producer Anvar Mansurov, said that they believe in the success of the festival.

Then a new clip of the anthem of the National Olympic Committee was shown to the guests of the event.

The audience also watched a promotional video about the first National Television Festival of Sports Films and Programs, Judo Club 2012 Public Association, which is the festival partner.

A documentary from the series "Olympic Odyssey," dedicated to the Olympic champions of the independent Azerbaijani Republic, was screened as part of the event.

The film won the TOP 10 Europe Prize Award at the 1st Festival of the International Sports Association (AIPS Sport Media Awards) held in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 2019.

A film "Ertogrul" about Olympic champion Togrul Asgarov was also shown at the festival opening ceremony.

The partner of the 2nd National Television Festival of Sports Films and Programs is the NGO Judo Club 2012.

Media partners of the event are Azernews.Az, Trend.Az, Day.Az, Milli.Az, Turkic World, and Idman.Biz, as well as AZTV, AZTV Idman, CBC SPORT, ARB, SPACE, Olympic.az, OlimpiyaDünyas?, Sportsman.

More detailed information about the festival can be obtained on the following website:

http://millitvfest.az/, https://www.facebook.com/millitvfest.az/ and on social networks.