Azerbaijan First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva has been awarded the European Olympic Committees Order of Merit in recognition of her "contribution to sport and the Olympic Movement". Aliyeva had chaired the Organising Committee for last year's inaugural European Games in Baku.
International Olympic Committee deputy secretary general Pere Miró and an Azeribaijani delegation including Baku 2015 chief executive and Minister for Youth and Sports, Azad Rahimov were also present at the special ceremony, during the meeting of the European Olympic Committees.