President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and his wife, chairperson of the Baku-2015 First European Games Organizing Committee Mehriban Aliyeva and daughter Leyla Aliyeva have reviewed the conditions created in Baku Crystal Hall, which will host competitions in several sports during the First European Games.

Minister of Youth and Sport Azad Rahimov informed the head of state about the work done here.

Baku Crystal Hall will host competitions in volleyball, boxing, fencing, taekwondo, and karate during the First European Games. The volleyball venue was created to highest international standards. The state-of-the-art venue has 4,000 seats. In general, the First European Games will feature teams from Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkey, Croatia, Romania, and the Netherlands.

The conditions created in the boxing venue offer wide opportunities to host competitions at the highest level. A 2,600-seat stand was built here. The facility offers excellent conditions for athletes, coaches and spectators. There will be 10 weight categories for men and five weight categories for women.

There is also a state-of-the art media center. Commentators` rooms used during the Eurovision Song Contest were expanded and made recreation areas for the European Games family.

The venue for fencing, taekwondo and karate events also meets highest standards. The facility used as the media center during the Eurovision contest is now ready for the competitions. The venue will handle up to 1500 spectators for taekwondo and karate events, and will have a capacity of 1100 spectators during fencing competition.

One hundred and fifty Olympic medal winners, including 59 gold medallists, will compete at the Baku 2015 European Games, confirming the strong appeal of the inaugural event for athletes as they seek to become the first ever European Games champions.

As well as Olympic medallists, almost 200 of the 6,000 athletes competing at Baku 2015 – which runs from 12 June to 28 June – are world championship winners, making the quest for gold in Baku highly competitive.

The extensive landscaping work was carried around Baku Crystal Hall. The venue features accreditation, logistics, security zones and rooms for employees of Baku 2015 European Games Operations Committee, and other temporary facilities.