Let's go. The 2015 European Games, the first of their name, begin this Friday, June 12 in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan. They open in the early evening at the new Olympic stadium, with an opening ceremony which will take place to a sold-out crowd, like more than a hundred competition sessions. The organizers have entrusted the direction to a specialist in the genre, the British Catherine Ugwu, executive producer of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The prospect of a grandiose evening, which will be broadcast live from 17 p.m. GMT on the official website of the Games: baku2015.com.
Let's not be afraid of words: the date of June 12, 2015 will remain historic. With this first edition of the Games, the Europe of sport takes its place in an international sports calendar where it was until then conspicuous by its absence. Africa had its African Games, Asia its Asian Games, America its Pan American Games. Europe, nothing. A gap now filled.
Did the continent really need such a gathering of disciplines and athletes? The future will answer. An answer which could depend, essentially, on the level of competitions that the European Games will succeed in reaching.
This first edition, Azerbaijan obtained the organization in December 2012, less than three years before the three blows. The country prepared it hastily, like a sprint, but without sacrificing resources. In Baku, everything has been ready for a long time. The installations, often impressive, smell new. There is no doubt about the national mobilization. The details are careful. The event will be broadcast around the world, as far as China and Africa. Bluffing.
Level ? Obviously uneven. Athletics is unlikely to reach great heights, with the competition reduced to the third division of the European Team Championship. But the organizers had the idea of inviting, for street demonstrations, the German pole vaulter Raphael Holzdeppe and the Ukrainian high jumper Bohdan Bondarenko, both reigning world champions. Swimming also looks modest. Elsewhere, the best will (almost) all be there. Pierce O’Callaghan, Baku 2015 sports director, explained this to FrancsJeux : “Athletes want to make history. By winning in Baku, they will put their name on the first line of the list. »
According to figures communicated by the organizing committee (BEGOC), no less than 150 Olympic medalists, including 59 gold, made the trip to Baku for the European Games. The event will also see the participation of 200 world champions. Everyone wants to invite themselves into History. Above all, they can now secure a place at the Rio Games in 2016. In Baku, no less than 12 of the 20 disciplines on the program will offer the possibility of qualifying for the next Olympic events. In table tennis, shooting and triathlon, victory will be accompanied by a direct ticket to the Rio Games. An opportunity that the best Europeans in these three disciplines will not want to miss.
Another interest: the presence on the program of four non-Olympic sports or disciplines, in a more or less open campaign for entry into the Games. Karate, beach soccer, sambo and 3×3 basketball will be able to use the European Games as a showcase. At a time when the IOC wants to give more flexibility to the program of its Games, such an opportunity should not be overlooked. Beach soccer understands this. Four of its best teams are present in Baku, including Russia, the reigning world champion.
In a different register, gymnastics has chosen to use the Baku 2015 European Games as a laboratory. Georges Guelzec, the president of the European Gymnastics Union, wants to test a new competition format, where the different disciplines will share the room without the slightest downtime. An innovation which could, if deemed conclusive, be generalized in the future to world or even Olympic competitions. Another proof that European sport has a date with History, from June 12 to 28 in Baku.
