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 1 ...

by the city of Baku and the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan. 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 count ...

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Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

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(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 List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

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 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 ...

. 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 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 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'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 ...

. 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 The 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games (german: Olympische Jugend-Winterspiele 2012), officially known as the I Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG), were an international multi-sport event for youths that took place in Innsbruck, Austria, on 13–22 J ...

, 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 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 and Pyeongchang 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 The 2018 Winter Olympics ( ko, 2018년 동계 올림픽, Icheon sip-pal nyeon Donggye Ollimpik), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (french: Les XXIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; ko, 제23회 동계 올림픽, Jeisipsamhoe Donggye Ollimpi ...

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 ) , nations = TBA , athletes = 10,500 ''(quota limit)'' , events = 329 in 32 sports (48 disciplines) , opening = 26 July 2024 , closing = 11 August 2024 , opened_by = , stadium = Stade de France Jardins du Trocadéro and River Seine , summe ...

. Baku hosted the 2015 European Games which were the first

European Games The European Games is a continental multi-sport event in the Olympic tradition contested by athletes from European nations and several transcontinental countries. The Games were envisioned and are governed by the European Olympic Committees ...

to be held.

was ultimately elected as the host city of the

at the

125th IOC Session The 125th IOC Session took place at the Buenos Aires Hilton in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 7 to 10 September 2013. On 7 September, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) elected Tokyo as the host city of the 2020 Summer Olympic ...

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, the

2005 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships XXVII World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships were held in Baku the capital of Azerbaijan, 3–10 October 2005 at the Heydar Aliyev Sports and Exhibition Complex Heydar is a common male given name in Greater Iran, particularly in Iran and Azer ...

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

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