Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16
Trend:
Baku is a charming city with a rich history and many attractions, although one sight that features prominently across modern Baku is construction work, according to the EuroNews report on Yahoo News Canada.
"The city is experiencing rapid growth owing to increased oil investments and numerous international projects," the report said. "Sport is among the city's priority and hosting the first ever European games, scheduled to run from June 12-28 next year, is top of the agenda."
Simon Clegg, the chief operating officer of the European Games 2015, said that he has no reasons to be worried about the readiness of the event, because of the 18 venues that will host the competition, the majority are ready.
"Concerning the rest, the venues are reportedly on track to be completed in time such as the main arena," the report said, further citing the Euronews reporter, Denys Kulyk.
It was also noted that that Olympic Stadium is a symbol of the European Games, and it will host the opening and closing ceremonies and will be a stunning example of this competition's legacy.
"After the Games it will become the home ground for Azerbaijan's national football team and will host four matches at Euro 2020," Kulyk said.
"The price tag of the Olympic stadium, which will have a capacity of 68,000 people, is more than 500 million euros. It should be completed by February 2015," said the report.
"This is the biggest construction in Azerbaijan and has been transformed in a very short period of time," Javid Najafov, the project's senior engineer said.
"Everything you see around here has been built in just two years," Najafov added.
"It seems even the traffic jams in Baku won't hamper the smooth-running of the Games," further said the report. "Like at the London Olympics, during the event there will be special traffic lanes reserved strictly for participants and officials of the Games."
Baku 2015 is the first ever European Games, an exciting and innovative multi-sport event for the continent which will take place from 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.
Eleven of the sports will offer qualification opportunities for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Those sports include Archery, Athletics, Boxing, Cycling, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Triathlon, Wrestling and Volleyball.
Baku was awarded the Games by the European Olympic Committees (EOC) in December 2012. The Baku European Games Operations Committee (BEGOC) will organise and run the Games in co-operation with the EOC.