"TOGETHER WE CAN"

Baku, which is bidding for the Summer Olympic Games 2020, has the mascot of the Games. The mascot of "Baku-2020", which is reminiscent of famous Azerbaijani carpet patterns, combines the colours of the Olympic rings. The slogan of the Azerbaijani Olympic movement is also known. Our country intends to host the Summer Olympic Games in 2020 under the slogan of "Together We Can". And the official website of the Games will be www.baku2020.com.

Baku's bid for the Games in 2020 is also backed by Azerbaijani Olympians. The winner of the Sydney Olympic Ga-mes, Zemfira Meftaheddinova, is confident that the 2020 Olympics and the Paralympic Games will be held in Baku. The two-time winner of the Paralympic Games, Ilham Zakiyev, recalled the great achievements gained by Azerbaijan in a short time and also expressed confidence that our country will host the Olympics. The winner of the Olympic Games in Beijing, Elnur Mammadov, said that we have a great chance of hosting the Games 2020 in Baku. "To ensure that the Olympics take place in Baku, we need to consolidate our efforts. I will be 32 years old by then. I believe that I will be able to participate in the Olympics as an athlete," Mammadli said.

By 15 February 2012, the Organizing Committee shall submit its bid book to the International Olympic Committee. It will contain a lot of information about culture, economy, sports and other areas of life in Azerbaijan. In this regard, our country has signed a contract with three globally recognized companies. One of them will prepare answers to strategic questions for the book, as well as issues related to transport, environment, security, etc. The second one will be dealing with public relations and communications, and the third one is conducting a series of technical projects - filming web movies and videos in Baku. Through all this, Baku should demonstrate its willingness to host the Summer Olympic Games in 2020.

The chairman of the Organizing Committee of Baku-2020 and Deputy Prime Minister Yaqub Eyyubov told the publication Around the Rings: "In the 20 years of independence, our nation has gone a long way. If we can realize our dream of hosting the Olympic Games in 2020, I am sure it will be another major step in the development of Azerbaijan. Together we can get stronger and continue social changes. Developing like it has done over the past 20 years, Baku can become one of the leading cities in the world by the Olympics. Together we can secure accelerated growth in team sports and in new sports useful for both youth and older generations in the country. Finally, together we can create conditions for the implementation of the sports potential of our country, encourage its development and establish a framework for the integration of sports in Azerbaijani society."

In addition, the chairman of the Organizing Committee said that the nomination of Baku as a candidate to host the Olympics 2020 is an important event not only for Azerbaijan but also for the international Olympic movement. According to him, if Baku hosts the Summer Games, it will set an example and be an incentive for other little-known candidate cities that are capable of achieving the same success. "The holding of the Olympics in Baku will open new and dynamic markets for the IOC and present important and attractive Olympic values to regions that recently joined the Olympic movement," Eyyubov said. In comparison with Rome, Tokyo, Istanbul, Madrid and Doha, Baku has some advantages. The IOC has set a number of conditions for candidate cities. The main requirement is related to the economic opportunities of bidders. First of all, the bidder must be able to ensure the holding of the Games in financial terms. In this respect, Madrid and Rome are in a vulnerable position - these cities have been hit hard by the economic crisis. Another bidder - Doha - has no problems in financial terms, but climatic conditions come to the fore here. This issue has a special place among the conditions set by the IOC: any problem with the climate weakens the position of the respective bidder. In the bid book, the candidate country must also specify the expected timing of the Olympics. This timing must be in summer months. For Doha, it is a bit problematic because it is too hot in summer there. Qatar plans to host the Olympics in autumn...

To prepare a clip supporting Baku, the famous Hollywood film director Rupert Wainwright has been invited to Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani mini-movies and trailers are being made under his direction. The company's representatives have filmed various parts of Baku and even regions of Azerbaijan.

After the bid books of candidate cities are ready, the IOC will move to the next stage and announce their names. In May, some of the six candidates will continue to fight for the right to host the Summer Olympic Games in 2020 and those who do not comply with the conditions imposed will not be able to continue to participate in the competition.

In any case, the fact that Baku struggles for the right to host such a prestigious competition for the second time is already a great achievement for Azerbaijan.