IOC promises to ensure appropriate reception for Armenian athletes at Baku European Games

President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach assures that if Armenia decides to participate in the European Games to be held in Baku, IOC will ensure appropriate reception. Thomas Bach is full of hope that the President of the Armenian Olympic Committee will be interested in Armenia’s participation in Baku Games. “I highly assess Gagik Tsarukyan’s decision that the issue of Armenia’s participation in Baku Games should be determined through general discussion. This decision corresponds to true Olympic spirit,” he concluded. 

The 2015 European Games will be the inaugural edition of the European Games, a multi-sport event for European athletes. It will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan in 2015. On December 8, 2012, at the 41st General Assembly of the European Olympic Committee in Rome, it was decided to hold the first ever European Games. The Assembly was attended by 49 National Olympic Committees. Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, has been awarded the rights to host the inaugural European Games in 2015. The decision was made as a result of the secret balloting, where of 48 votes, 38 came in favor of the sole bidder for the event. Eight votes came against, and two more abstained from voting. The representatives of Armenia refused to take part in the voting.