THE AMAZING WORLD OF SPORT

The first European Games in Baku were memorable not just for their excellent organization, but also the impressive victories by Azerbaijan's athletes. Winning 56 medals in different sports showed not just how much sport has developed in Azerbaijan but also the people's great interest in it.

By hosting this major competition Baku showed it is ready to stage any prestigious sporting event. I would like to recall once again those unforgettable moments of joy and pride we witnessed throughout the 17 days of the first month of summer.

A full house

It is no secret that the success of sports events is linked not just with the high level of organization, but also the number of people who attend at the various sporting arenas. Before the European Games in Baku the European Olympic Committee had doubts about whether there would be sufficient spectator interest because at such major competitions it is the local population who fill the stands.  But the first European Games exceeded the organizers' expectations from the point of view of spectators' interest. Tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies were sold out within a fairly short time. For the boxing, wrestling, karate, judo, basketball and artistic gymnastics no tickets were left on the day of the event. Generally speaking, all the events at the Games were followed with great interest by the spectators. The queues at the ticket offices were a pleasant surprise for the organizers. One of the games played by the Azerbaijani women's volleyball team drew over 5,000 spectators, which was the highest figure.

The European Games demonstrated that during prestigious tournaments in Azerbaijan the sports arenas will definitely not be empty.

Family support

It was also interesting to see so many families with children attending the events. And the younger element in our country, when they see the pride and joy of their victorious compatriots, are bound to be interested in sport and the chance to carry on the best traditions in boxing, wrestling, gymnastics and other sports. All this will lead to widespread interest in sport and create competition among sporting schools. We did not see such widespread family interest in attending sports events prior to the European Games.

The president's support

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the First Lady, the head of the Organizing Committee of the First European Games, Mehriban Aliyeva, together with members of their family often followed the athletes' exploits right there in the arena. And the awards to the victorious athletes by the country's president and the First Lady were unforgettable moments of the European Games, and they never concealed their emotions and feelings about the brilliant victories of the Azerbaijani athletes.

All this inspired the athletes to achieve the best possible result. They all said that they gained greater strength from knowing that President Ilham Aliyev was in the stadium.

The inestimable work of volunteers

Over 12,000 volunteers did a magnificent job at the first European Games. They were an important part of the high level of organization of the European Games, giving all kinds of help to spectators, journalists and officials. Dressed in light-blue shirts, the volunteers were an integral part of these historic events. One should also mention the great work done by the interpreters.

My police will protect me

The police did an excellent job. Always neatly and impressively turned out, they proved they were ready for such a prestigious competition. Even during the rush of spectators for the evening events the police handled it without fuss. The members of the State Road Traffic Police, thanks to whom there were no bottlenecks in the central streets of Baku and around the sports arenas, also carried out their work very professionally.

A unifying impulse

Several spectator areas were opened within the context of the European Games in Baku. Spectators who were unable to get tickets for the events watched them on a giant monitor screen set up in Primorskiy Park. Thousands of residents of the capital in the park were delighted at the successes of the Azerbaijani athletes.

Media justifies hopes

There is no doubt that the media also bore a great responsibility at the first European Games. It should not be forgotten that most of the journalists had not had experience of covering sporting events on such a large scale. From this point of view, the journalists, who worked 12 hours a day, and sometimes more, conveyed to their audience all the twists and turns of the action in the stadiums and also behind the scenes in a prompt and professional manner.

Tears of regret

As well as the irrepressible joy of victory we also saw tears of regret at the European Games. In this sense it is difficult to forget the tears of the captain of the women's volleyball team, Oksana Parkhomenko, the silver Taekwondo medallist Farida Azizova and the bronze medallist in the wrestling, Hasan Aliyev. And whereas Parkhomenko was weeping after her defeat in the match for a bronze medal, Farida and Hasan could not keep back their emotions from failing to reach the highest level on the podium.

Anthem

It is no secret that there were naturalized foreigners among the Azerbaijani squad in various sports. And the fact that they sang the Azerbaijani anthem after victory in the finals was particularly moving. Gold medallists in karate and wrestling, Irina Zaretskaya and Mariya Stadnik, sang the Azerbaijani anthem with immense pride. We saw the widespread singing of the anthem by the spectators in the stands - before the European Games this happened only at football matches.

Only strong states can host major sporting tournaments. In this sense Azerbaijan and its athletes have once again shown they have such strength. And this is not Azerbaijan's last sports festival - ahead lie the Islamiada and the European football championships, not to mention the Chess Olympics and Formula-1 racing.