POSTED: May 24th 2012
NewsUpdate
Baku 2020: Very disappointed at IOC shortlist cut
LAURA WALDEN in QUEBEC / Sports Features Communications
May 24 – Baku fell out of the 2020 bid race together with Doha as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) promoted Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo to candidate status.
This marks the second time that Baku has been shortlisted off the bid race following the 2016 cut and again together with Doha. The IOC working group report was the point of reference for the executive board decision yesterday as they were convening at the SportAccord convention.
Azerbaijan’s Minister for Youth and Sports, Azad Rahimov, spoke out on behalf of the nation in a statement: “We are obviously very disappointed that Baku was not selected as one of the Candidate Cities to host the 2020 Games. We wanted to prove that an Olympic Games was not only a sound investment in a nation’s sport, health and quality of life, but that it could be hosted in a responsible manner which, in turn, provided the Olympic Movement with a sustainable Games hosting model for the future.”
“We offer our sincere congratulations to the new Candidate Cities of Madrid, Istanbul and Tokyo and wish them all the very best of luck in their respective quests to host the 2020 Games.”
“The IOC’s decision is a setback, but I can assure you that we will listen and learn from the feedback that the IOC has offered us about our 2020 Bid – and then we will come back again next time even stronger. Our nation is on an astonishing march towards progress. We are investing heavily in services and infrastructure, to improve the future of our people and the region. We are very encouraged that this has been recognised by the IOC in its Working Group report.”
“However, the measure of great character is how you recover from disappointments such as these – in particular in the world of sport. To quote the great Pierre de Coubertin: ‘The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.’”
The report did note on the amount of work that the country is doing to turn the country into a world class travel destination and high levels of both public and government support.
The race will go on and the final decision will be voted in Buenos Aires on September 7, 2013 at the IOC session.
Keywords · Baku 2020 · Azad Rahimov
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