Azerbaijan is the center of sporting action this week as the city of Baku is the home of the inaugural European Games. According to Azerbaijan’s Sports Minister, Azad Rahimov, the country may also be the center of sporting action come 2024, as organizers look to possibly bid on hosting that year’s Summer Olympic Games.
Azerbaijan had entered the beginning stages of the bidding process for both the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games, but the country failed to make the “short list” of finalists, with poor infrastructure being cited as its primary flaw. Of note, however, both inspections took place before major construction had been undertaken in preparation for the European Games.
The same issue of minimum infrastructure requirements as dictated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is still at the top of Azerbaijan’s list of concerns in moving forward with a bid this time around. Rahimov has been vocal about wanting the venue size requirements specifically to be reduced.
‘‘At the moment, the requirements for the Olympics are very high,’’ says Rahimov, according to The Boston Globe. He further stated it would be impossible for Azerbaijan to hold the Olympics using its European Games venues without “huge investment of the government for the preparation for the games.”
Concerns over what the future would hold for heavily invested infrastructure is at the top of the list of reasons why Azerbaijan may be holding back from giving a bid the green light. Referring to Beijing’s “Bird Nest” stadium, one of the most iconic images from the 2012 Summer Olympics, Rahimov said “we know [the stadium] is still standing without any big events and without competition and going a bit ruined and so on.’’ (The Boston Globe)
Rahimov added that Azerbaijan would also be taking into consideration how the “Olympic movement” responds to the European Games that are currently in progress before it decides to jump on the 2024 bidding train that already has the countries of Boston, Hamburg, Paris, Rome and possibly Budapest hitching a ride.
Although infrastructure may be the primary concern for them as a host, spectators and athletes may identify security and safety as a drawback to Azerbaijan as a possible Olympic site. Just last week three Austrian synchronized swimmers were seriously injured when a bus struck the athletes as there simply walking on a sidewalk in the European Games’ athletes’ village. The country also barred several major newspapers, including the Guardian, from reporting on the European Games after the papers reported on human rights issues involving Azerbaijan’s relationship with nearby Armenia.
The country covered all costs for all athletes competing at the European Games, which is unlikely to help its voting in Olympic running: in 2013, the IOC publicly criticized the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee’s bid because it included an offer to cover flights for all athletes as well as all equipment transportation costs. Tokyo still won the 2020 Olympic bid after adjusting its bid.
