Baku 2020 ( az, 'Bakı 2020') was a bid for the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

by the city of

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

and the

National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan The National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan ( az, Azərbaycan Respublikası Milli Olimpiya Komitəsi), also known as AZMOC, is an independent public organization, with a status of a legal entity, which passed registration in the ...

. Bids were also placed by

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

(which later cancelled its bid) and the chosen host city of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

History

It was announced on September 1, 2011 that Baku submitted a bid to host the 2024 Olympics. Baku bid to host the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

but failed to become a candidate. Those games ultimately were awarded to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. Baku's 2020 bid was their second bid. On September 13, 2011 it was announced that Azerbaijan's Deputy Prime Minister Yagub Eyubov would head the Baku 2020 bid. Youth and Sports Minister

Azad Rahimov Azad Arif oglu Rahimov ( az, Azad Arif oğlu Rəhimov, October 8, 1964 – April 30, 2021) was an Azerbaijani politician who served as the Minister of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan Republic. Early life and business affairs Rahimov was born int ...

claimed that Baku would be ready to stage the 2020 Olympics by 2016 citing that many sports facilities would have been built. Baku is already building an

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

as well as an Olympic complex which will include a pool. On October 20, 2011, the

Russian Olympic Committee The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC; russian: Олимпийский комитет России (ОКР), Olimpiyskiy komitet Rossii (OKR); Full name: All-Russian united social union "Olympic Committee of Russia", russian: Общероссий� ...

announced that they supported Baku's bid. In their campaign to host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, Baku's bid committee appointed three leading international agencies; pmplegacy,

Burson-Marsteller Burson Cohn & Wolfe is a multinational public relations and communications firm, headquartered in New York City. In February 2018, parent WPP Group PLC announced that it had merged its subsidiaries Cohn & Wolfe with Burson-Marsteller. The comb ...

and Adore Creative in November 2011. Later on that month, Baku 2020 appointed Konul Nurullayeva to be the CEO of the Baku 2020 Bid Committee. Baku 2020 has hired a team of experts to help them with their bid. One of the experts they have hired is Bob Elphinston who was the general manager of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

's successful bid to host the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. In December 2011, Baku 2020 revealed their bid logo. The logo is inspired by carpets which are an important product which is commonly made in Azerbaijan. The slogan of the bid is "Together We Can". Prior to the start of the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics, Baku 2020 announced the opening of a new ski resort in Azerbaijan. It will be the first major ski resort in the country. Baku 2020 CEO Konul Nurullayeva said it will compel Azerbaijan to send athletes to the

2016 Winter Youth Olympics The 2016 Winter Youth Olympics ( no, Olympiske vinterleker for ungdom 2016; nn, Olympiske vinterleikane for ungdom 2016), officially known as the II Winter Youth Olympic Games, took place in and around Lillehammer, Norway, between 12 February an ...

and to the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

in the future. Azerbaijan President

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev ( az, İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, ; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003. The son and second child of the former Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev, ...

has declared 2012 as a "year of sport" which will help promote the Olympic Movement in the country as well as promote Baku's Olympic bid. The bid enjoyed high public support. A poll conducted in December 2011 revealed that 95% of the country supported the bid and 93% of those polled felt that hosting the games would have a positive impact on sports in Azerbaijan. Baku submitted their application file to the IOC on February 1, 2012. The

National Assembly of Azerbaijan The National Assembly ( az, Milli Məclis), also transliterated as Milli Mejlis, is the legislative branch of government in Azerbaijan. The unicameral National Assembly has 125 deputies: previously 100 members were elected for five-year terms ...

voted to endorse the bid in February 2012. It was announced in March 2012 that Azerbaijan and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

were interested in bidding to co-host the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship. Azerbaijan decided to keep their focus on the Baku Olympic bid. As a result, Georgia has submitted a bid to host UEFA Euro 2020. Baku 2020 hired Helios Partners as a bid consultant in April 2012. Helios Partners was set to work with

's 2020 bid but the bid was withdrawn. Helios Partners played a role in the winning bids by

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

and

Pyeongchang Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seou ...

for the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and

2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...

respectively.

Outlook, conclusion and future

Baku failed to become a Candidate City when the IOC selected the candidate cities on May 23, 2012. After Baku failed to become a candidate, Azerbaijan joined forces with neighboring

in a bid to host

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

. However, this plan failed when UEFA announced that UEFA Euro 2020 would be held across Europe in multiple countries. It has been stated that Baku would bid again for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 2024), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la XXXIIIe Olympiade, links=no) and also known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international multi-sport event that is s ...

. Baku hosted the 2015 European Games which were the first

European Games The European Games is a continental multi-sport event in the Olympic Games, Olympic tradition contested by sportsperson, athletes from European nations and several European Olympic Committees#Notes, transcontinental countries. The Games were ...

to be held.

was ultimately elected as the host city of the

at the 125th IOC Session in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Overview

The city hosted many sporting events, including the

Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships The Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships are the European championships for the sport of rhythmic gymnastics. They were first held in 1978. The European Championships and the European Junior Championships were united in 1993. Prior to 2006, ...

in 2007 and

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, the 2005 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, 2007 FILA Wrestling World Championships and 2010 European Wrestling Championships, the

2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships The 2011 AIBA World Boxing Championships was held at the Heydar Aliyev Sports and Exhibition Complex in Baku, Azerbaijan from September 22 to October 10, 2011. The competition ran under the supervision of the world's governing body for amateur ...

, 2009 Women's Challenge Cup and the

European Taekwondo Championships The European Taekwondo Championships are the European senior championships in Taekwondo, first held in Barcelona in 1976. The event is held every two years and is organized by the European Taekwondo Union, the continental affiliate of World Taekw ...

in 2007. As of 2011, the city annually hosts WTA tennis event called

Baku Cup The Baku Cup was a professional women's tennis tournament held in Baku, Azerbaijan. It made its debut on the 2011 WTA Tour and as one of the international tier of events. This WTA Tour event is an international tournament and was played at the B ...

. The city hosted the

2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup was the third edition of the women's football tournament, and was held in Azerbaijan from 22 September to 13 October, following a decision by the executive committee on 19 March 2010. Defending champions Sou ...

and hosted the

Eurovision Song Contest 2012 The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song " Running Scared" by the duo Ell & Nikki. It was the first time Azerb ...

Venues

In Baku's 2016 bid, their venue proposals received low scores due to Baku's lack of sufficient sports facilities at the time. Baku's 2020 bid consisted of a four cluster concept that includes competition and non competition venues. Since Baku's 2016 bid, Baku has invested in the construction of new sports venues that can be used during an Olympic Games. Baku Olympic Stadium, the largest stadium in Azerbaijan, was completed in 2015. The Stadium is able to seat 68,700 people. Baku has embarked on construction of a hockey arena, a wrestling arena, and a training center. Baku is also building a new aquatics center.

Accommodations

Between May 2011 and May 2012 a total of eight five-star hotels in Baku have opened.Five-Star Hotel Opening Boosts Baku 2020
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References