SPORT
B
aku, Azerbaijan’s capital city, was awarded the inaugural 2015 European Games in December 2012. This oil rich country was the only bidder, which makes it no less of an
achievement, since other bidders were fright- ened off by the tight timescale. Keen to join the world stage and secure a major international sports event as a pre- cursor for its ambitions to one day host the Olympic Games, Azerbaijan committed to be Games-ready within two years. Tekfen Construction was appointed and tasked with an aggressive build sched- ule, which necessitated designing and constructing simultaneously. The challenge was successfully completed, with the stadium
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finished in early March 2015, in plenty of time for the European Games in June. Europe is the last of the major continents to
have its own Games. They will be held every four years, in the year before the Olympics. The first Games will see 7,000 athletes from 49 countries, taking part in 20 sports. It will be the biggest sporting event Azerbaijan has ever seen and has sparked investment in cutting edge architecture. “The government sees sport as an excel- lent vehicle through which to engage with Azerbaijan’s youth, as well as raising the pro- file of the country on the international stage,” says Jeremy Edwards, general manager, venue management Baku 2015 European Games. “Not only are the Games a chance to inspire more people to lead a healthy and active
life, but they also provide an opportunity for graduates to develop new skills and obtain experiences that will further help Azerbaijan earn a place on the world stage.”
ASPIRATIONAL ARCHITECTURE Azerbaijan has been aspirational with its architecture. Eager to secure international prestige, architecture is being used to present an image of modernity and the sports facili- ties are at the forefront of this campaign. The new stadium is part of a new village
cluster, which includes athletes’ accom- modation and The National Gymnastics Arena, which hosted the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships last year. Designed by Broadway Malyan and Pasha Construction, this is another example of
CLAD mag 2015 ISSUE 2
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