Baku 2015 has held a successful test event at the Olympic Stadium ahead of the inaugural European Games to be held in the city of Baku, Azerbaijan, next month.
The event was attended by 15,000 Baku 2015 flamekeepers and organising committee staff, and gave Baku 2015 the opportunity to test operations including security arrangements and spectator and VIP movements, as well as ticketing systems and general transport practices.
The test event at the Olympic Stadium, which will host the opening and closing ceremonies as well as athletics competitions during the Games, comes after sporting tests were held in boxing, which took place at Crystal Hall in the Flag Square cluster of venues, and wrestling, which was staged at the Heydar Aliyev Arena in the City cluster, last month. Previous competitions have also been held in gymnastics, BMX and triathlon. Baku 2015 will test all venues before the Games begin.
“Building the capability of people to stage world class events is a valuable legacy of the European Games for our host country, which has not undertaken anything on this scale before,” said Gavin McAlpine, Baku 2015 director of operational capability and readiness. “With around a month to go, it is extremely rewarding to see how far we have come in such a short time.”
The first-ever European Games is due begin on June 12 and scheduled to finish on June 28. It will feature 20 sports, 12 of which will offer Olympic qualification for Rio 2016.
May 15, 2015
