Baku 2015 Opening Ceremony claims to six Emmy Awards

/By Azernews/

By Amina Nazarli

The impressive Opening Ceremony of the Baku 2015 European Games left positive traces in minds after becoming a reality last year. The world saw the rich Azerbaijani culture, blending unique features of East and West.

And now almost one year later there is pleasant opportunity to remember the historical date -- June 12 again, as the grandiose ceremony has been nominated for the 43rd annual edition of the Daytime Emmy Awards.

The Daytime Emmy Awards has been honoring excellence in all fields of daytime programming for 43 years. The Emmy is awarded in different categories, including acknowledgements for series, performers and all other technical and creative areas.

Azerbaijan will claim to as much as six awards including Best Directing Special Class, Best Art Direction, Best Lighting Direction, Best Live and Direct to Tape Sound Mixing, Best Music Direction and Composition and Best Costume Design/Styling.

The grand opening ceremony of the inaugural European Games on June 12, which astonished all of Europe with its Azerbaijani culture-themed production, was a spectacular and memorable kick off to a momentous sporting event.

As many as 68,000 people in Baku’s Olympic stadium along with millions around the world tuning in watched the opening ceremony of the long-awaited Baku 2015, welcoming 6,000 athletes from 50 European nations in 20 sports between June 12 and 28.

A team of world-renowned artistic and production team provided audiences around the world with breathtaking performances of traditional Azerbaijani folk and classical music, poems from famed national poet Nizami Ganjavi, and showcased the national symbols of Azerbaijan like carpets and the pomegranate.

Pop singer Lady Gaga surprised audiences with a moving rendition of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’, adding a special touch to the spirit of the event.

Artistic director of the opening ceremony of the first European Games, the world-famous professional Dimitris Papaioannou also nominated in the ORIGINS category in two awards such as Outstanding Directing Special Class and Outstanding Art Direction / Set Decoration / Scenic Design.

Papaioannou received the Golden Cross of the Order of Honor from the President of Greece for outstanding artistic achievements following his works at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

Since then, he has created several groundbreaking shows that have been performed all over the world to a combined audience of hundreds of thousands.

"My appointment as the official in charge to create the Baku 2015 Opening Ceremony is both an honor and a challenge," he commented his participation in the project last summer. "My aim is to tell a universal human story using elemental Azerbaijani ingredients in a way that is contemporary, inventive and playful, but always respectful of the culture's enormous richness and depth."

Winners will be revealed during the Creative Arts Emmys on April 29, followed by the main ceremony on May 1 in Los Angeles, California.