Baku 2020 Gets Corporate Backing

doctor helvetica, sans-serif;”>Baku’s hopes of hosting the 2020 Olympic Games has received a boost after three of Azerbaijan’s largest companies signed up as official corporate supporters of the bid.

The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), Azerbaijan Airlines and Azercell, one of the country’s leading mobile operators have voiced their support.

This comes ahead of the executive board meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) this coming week in Quebec, Canada, where a decision will be made on which candidate cities continue their quest to play host 2020.

Konul Nurullayeva, CEO of Baku 2020, was glad to have big businesses supporting the bid, having already convinced her fellow countrymen.

She said: “Our application file poll showed 95% support from the population of Azerbaijan – and more recently half a million Azerbaijanis signed a petition in support of the Baku 2020 bid.

“The bid also enjoys the complete support of all levels of government, as well as across all political parties. And now we also have the confirmed backing of the commercial sector of the country.”

Rovnaq Abdullayev, President of SOCAR, said: “The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan is the leading force for implementing the government’s strategy of using our hydrocarbon revenues to maximise the benefits for the development of the country and its people.

“The government of Azerbaijan has already done a lot to transform the country into a prosperous place in the region. Baku’s Bid to host the Olympic Games in 2020 provides us with a wonderful opportunity to accelerate this transformation by investing into development of world class sporting and tourism facilities, as well as promoting a healthy lifestyle for both young and old.”

Jahangir Asgerov, President of Azerbaijan Airlines, added: “As the nation’s flagship airline, we are actively promoting tourism in Azerbaijan. In 2011, the country received more than 2 million visitors, which is a record number.

“Baku’s location, between East and West, offers a unique blend of tradition and history combined with modernity. Azerbaijan Airlines is delighted to be a corporate supporter of the Baku 2020 Bid, which we very much hope will turn our beautiful capital city into one of the popular sporting and tourism destinations of the world.”

Ali Agan, CEO of Azercell Telecom said: “Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is the second fastest growing sector of the economy in Azerbaijan, after the oil industry. With more than 80% mobile penetration in our country, Azerbaijanis are obviously keen to adapt and use modern technologies.

“The people of Azerbaijan have one of the highest literacy rates in the world and are actively involved in sports. With the Baku 2020 Bid, we dream of hosting the first Olympic Games in Azerbaijan and Azercell as the largest mobile communications provider is delighted to support this dream.”

Baku is up against Doha, Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo and the IOC will decide whether to remove some of the candidates or allow all five to continue bidding, with the winner being selected on September 7 2013 at the IOC session in Buenos Aires, Argentina.