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Azerbaijan prepared well for European Games â€“ EOC president

11 June 2015 11:50 (UTC +04:00)

The EOC president said that Azerbaijan prepared well for the first games featuring 6,000 athletes competing in 20 sports.

“This figure is also remarkable. Organizer Azerbaijan had a little time for hosting these games. But they did a good job. They created beautiful arenas and excellent infrastructure. In a word, Azerbaijan prepared well for the games,” he added.

As for calls to boycott the upcoming European Games in Baku, Hickey said there are always boycotts at Olympic games, but they never bring any results. Hickey said it was proven in the past that boycotting doesn't work and won't work.

With regard to Netherlands’ refusal to host the second European Games in 2019, the EOC president said: “It is very regrettable, and now we must look for other candidates. There are 6 such countries. Valencia is among them. In any case, a decision on the second European Games to be held in 2019 will be made after Baku-2015”.

Hickey expressed gratitude to Azerbaijan for taking all necessary actions to ensure the safety of the Armenian delegation which arrived in Baku as a result of talks.

“I express my gratitude to Azerbaijan for creating all the conditions for the Armenian team to stay and train in the Athletes Village.”

The EOC president also said that he looks forward to the start of the Baku-2015.

Such competitions were necessary and now are being held. This is a very exciting moment. Therefore, we look forward to the opening ceremony. It would be wrong to say that the Games are for testing nature. Because a large number of Olympic and world champions arrive in Baku. It’s obvious from the figures. Some sports will offer Rio 2016 qualification opportunity”, he added.