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 an ...

2016 ( az, Bakı 2016) was an unsuccessful bid for the

2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

by Baku, the capital city of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. It was the first bid by the city to host the Olympic games. Baku was eliminated from the running at the announcement of the Candidate city shortlist on June 4, 2008. If Baku had been chosen to host, the games would have been held between July 15 and July 31, 2016.Baku 2016 To Convert Former Oil Field Into Flourishing Olympic Park: Bid Dossier
/ref> The Paralympics would have been held between August 10 and August 22.

Bid details

's capital, Baku, announced its plans to bid for the Olympics, with initial studies suggesting that the cost of hosting the 2016 Summer Olympics may be $20 billion. In July 2007, Chingiz Huseynzade, chairman of Azerbaijan's

National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

, told a press conference that a group of economists was working on this issue. Baku is Azerbaijan's oil-rich capital city, on the shores of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central A ...

. The city had become somewhat run down following the chaotic period during which independent Azerbaijan emerged from the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

but has been experiencing massive development since a new oil-boom began around 2003. As a city in the crossroads between East and West, Huseynzade suggested that the theme of the games might be "making a better connection between East and West" In November 2007, the Azerbaijan Organizing Committee established its bid committee, installing first vice premier Yagub Eyubov as head. To ensure quick turnaround, Sports Minister Azad Ragimov appointed the Caspian American Group to prepare the bid book with the assistance of the government. Recent sports experience included Baku's hosting of the

2007 World Wrestling Championships The 2007 World Wrestling Championships were held at the Heydar Aliyev Sports and Concert Complex in Baku, Azerbaijan. The event took place from September 17 to September 23, 2007. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Men' ...

and the 23rd European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships at the

Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev ( az, Һејдәр Әлирза оғлу Әлијев, italic=no, Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev, ; , ; 10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani politician who served as the third president of Azer ...

Sport Complex, named for the former Azeri leader. The bid was popular with residents, with 91.9% of residents being in favor of the bid. This was the highest approval rating of any of the applicants, most of which were in the 70s-80s percent range. One issue that appeals to the IOC is the sports or Olympic legacy of a host nation. As Azerbaijan has been independent only a short time, naturally, it has a short Olympic history, sending teams since only 1996 and claiming only three gold medalists so far. Meanwhile, its long border with

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

may have caused concerns for a security risk. However,

itself expressed support for the Baku Olympic bid. In addition, the South Caucasus is a region with two other frozen political conflicts, which may have negatively influenced support of the regional Games.Olympic Bid Roundup
/ref>

Funding

As an

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

rich nation, Azerbaijan has plenty of money to fund the games.Can Baku Come From Behind To Win 2016 Olympic Race?
/ref> The country produces of oil daily which would pay for Baku’s bid. A member of the bid team said, “oil money coming into the Azerbaijani economy in the next 20 years will be $200 billion." With full government backing and financial guarantees, revenue was estimated to be US $930 million. The application and candidacy phase were budgeted at US$27.8 million, low in comparison to the other bids, which were mostly in the $40 million range.

Infrastructure

Although wealthy, the city's infrastructure has deteriorated since the breakup of the

. Currently, many of Baku’s downtown seaside esplanades are overshadowed by sprawling docks, freight containers, and loading cranes. Plans are to move port operations to “another part of Azerbaijan". The city’s airport will have to be expanded and an estimated 60 hotels in Baku and more outside the city will need to be built. Currently, 23,000 various accommodations exist but 81,000 new rooms are planned. This goal was considered quite ambitious and may not be feasible. The Azeris are planning at least three more subway stations, one at the airport, and two at the Olympic Village and Olympic Stadium, to be located on the city's outskirts.

Venues

Baku's most notable current venue is the Heydar Aliev Sports Complex. Baku revealed plans to build 15 new and 8 temporary structures in four clusters, including a US$254 million Olympic Stadium. The plan is fairly compact, with most venues less than 10 km from the Olympic Village. The Olympic Village will be a low-density apartment project on the waterfront replacing many of the numerous warehouses and docks. Financed jointly with private and public funds, it will later be sold and used as a residential community. The Olympic Park is planned for the historic Bibi-Heybat

oilfield A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presenc ...

. This was the first area where drilling began in 1847. The transformation is designed to be part of an overall renaturalization process for the region.

Logo

Baku revealed its logo in December 2007. The logo depicts

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

images from the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

of Gobustan Rock Plateau, which features the remains of settlements and burials reflecting ancient human culture.

Outlook, conclusion, and future

Despite Baku's booming economy and wealth of oil, its candidacy was considered a long shot. Concerns centered on infrastructure, budget of the games (which can inflate easily), and the close proximity of Baku to the

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an city of

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 i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, which hosted the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympi ...

. While Baku is an

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

n city, it may be too close to Sochi as the IOC tries to rotate the Games to different continents. Other points included practically no sports facilities meeting global standards, the underdeveloped tourist sector, and regional conflicts. The bid team acknowledged the chances of Baku winning the 2016 bid were small, but like Prague's bid, it gave them plenty of experience for future bids, as well as strong publicity for a smaller country. Baku announced its interest in bidding for the 2020 and 2024 editions of the Summer Olympics, with the possibility of a bid for the

2014 Summer Youth Olympics The 2014 Summer Youth Olympics (), officially known as the II Summer Youth Olympic Games , and commonly known as Nanjing 2014 ( zh, c=南京2014, p=Nánjīng Èr Líng yī sì), were the second Summer Youth Olympic Games, an international sports ...

(which was later won by

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

). Baku 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 ...

but failed to become a candidate.

References

External links

Official bid websiteBaku Mini-Bid Book
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baku Bid For The 2016 Summer Olympics 2016 Summer Olympics bids * Sport in Baku