In acknowledgement of her “contribution to sport and the Olympic Movement”, the Azerbaijan’s First Lady, Mehriban Aliyeva, has received the award of the EOC Order of Merit Thursday morning.
The award was granted to her because of her exceptional role as the chair of the Organizing Committee for the first European Games which was held in Baku last year.
Aliyeva, the wife of Ilham Aliyev – Azerbaijan’s current President, has received the award from the President of European Olympic Committee Patrick Hickey, holding its first Executive Committee meeting of the year later today.
She was also granted with a special Baku 2015 commemorative gold medal.
“Thank you for such a warm welcome here today” Aliyeva told the European Olympic Committee officials.
Pere Miró, the deputy secretary general of the International Olympic Committee, an Azerbaijani delegation, and Azad Rahimov, the chief executive of Baku 2015 and the Minister for Youth and Sports have also attended the said ceremony.
“I was a bit surprised about this award,” Aliyeva stated.
“I am accepting it on behalf of the whole Baku 2015 Games, which marked a historic moment for the sport and Azerbaijan.”
“We had only two-and-a-half years of preparation, but it was a common opinion that the Games became a real success.”
The latest recipients of the European Olympic Committee’s highest distinction include Thomas Bach, the President of the Internation Olympic Committee and Russia’s Vitaly Smirnov, who, after 44 years of service, stepped down as an IOC member at the end of 2015, due to reaching the age-limit of 80.
The President of the European Olympic Committee praised Aliyeva for the “hands-on” commitment she displayed before and during the European Games.
She was originally scheduled to receive the award at the EOC’s General Assembly in November in front of the full EOC membership, but she was not able to attend because of a diplomatic engagement.
However, the honour she received might be criticized by some, unfortunately, due to concerns over Azerbaijan’s human rights record.
The European Olympic Committee, along with Hickey, received identical criticism in 2008 after Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, was honoured “for his Outstanding Contribution to the Olympic Movement”.
Hickey made a pledge to Aliyeva that the European Games dream will stay “alive and well” even there’s still no host that’s been named for its second edition in the year 2019.
Russia was about to be acknowledged as the replacement host after the withdrawal of the Netherlands last year, but it was delayed due to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Independent Commision’s allegations of systemic doping across Russian athletes.
"There will be an announcement and one that you are very happy with," promised Hickey, a member of the IOC Executive Board.
Hickey also expressed his admiration for Azerbaijani’s President Ilham Aliyev, who also acts as the head of the Azerbaijan’s National Olympic Committee. Hickey described him as a “fantastic visionary” and “a great man”.
He was unable to attend the event as he was scheduled to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos at that time.
To get the most recent news and articles about the sport of gymnastics, you could visit and like our official Facebook Page. Come learn gymnastics for kids with us. Enroll today at Bianka Panova Sport and Academy and receive the most exciting way of learning gymnastics.
No comments:
Post a Comment