Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Tahir Amiraslanov, the president of the Azerbaijan National Association of Culinary spoke about the importance of the 1st European Games to be held in Baku from June 12 to 28.

“The Games will be held for many years. Everyone will remember that the first Games were held in Baku,” he told Trend Life. “This is a big historical event promoting the country, and city.”

Amiraslanov further noted how this significant event influences several fields.

“Sports facilities, new roads, parks and hotels have been constructed. The entire infrastructure has been improved. All of these facilities work and will further work for Azerbaijan," the chef stressed.

He also touched upon the Games’ contribution to the country’s tourism sphere. “After the Eurovision Song Contest held in Baku in 2012 the number of tourists increased in the country,” he said. “Learning more about Azerbaijan, its high tolerance, tourists will seek in the future to visit our country.”

The talented chef also emphasized that the Games will have a great significance in promoting Azerbaijani culture and art, as well as familiarize tourists with the country’s rich traditions and rich national cuisine.

“According to researches made by the world tourist organization held in 80 countries, many tourists remember a country thanks to its national cuisine. Last year we appealed to the Azerbaijan Culture and Tourism Ministry. We offered to make 80 percent of all dishes on the menu of the country’s leading hotels national dishes. The ministry ordered that we start with breakfasts. We prepared a standard Azerbaijani breakfast menu for hotels,” he said, adding that he hopes this menu will also be used during the European Games.

During the 17 days the European Games will host 6,000 athletes from 50 countries. Some 20 sports will be held during the Baku 2015: 16 Olympic sports and four non-Olympic sports.

Twelve of the sports will offer qualification opportunities for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Those sports include Archery, Athletics, Boxing, Cycling, Judo, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Triathlon, Volleyball and Wrestling.

Baku was awarded the games by the European Olympic Committees (EOC) in December 2012.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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