Baku, Azerbaijan, May 28
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
The first European Games are a great opportunity to popularize Azerbaijan in the world, Lithuania's Minister of Culture Sarunas Birutis told Trend.
He said that Azerbaijan has gained credibility in the world due to its economic and political achievements.
"I think that the first European Games will provide great opportunities for the people knowing little about Azerbaijan to get much information about the country," he said.
"I was in Baku two years ago," he recalled. "The city has greatly changed over the past period. Of course, the preparation for the games at such a high level in a short period is amazing."
Birutis said that sport is part of the culture and of great importance, because it brings people together.
"Following these meetings, people understand each other better," he said. "Therefore, Azerbaijan will contribute to peace and stability by holding the upcoming European Games."
Baku 2015 is the first-ever European Games, an exciting and innovative multi-sport event that will take place on June 12-28, 2015.
There will be a total of 20 sports at Baku 2015: 16 Olympic sports and four non-Olympic sports. More than 6,000 athletes from across Europe will be representing their nations over 17 days of competition. Baku was awarded the games by the European Olympic Committees (EOC) in December 2012.