Atlético Madrid Stars Reveal New Baku 2015 Logo in European Games Shirt Sponsorship Deal

MADRID, November 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Spanish soccer club Atlético Madrid yesterday unveiled a new strip featuring the official logo of the first ever European Games, Baku 2015.

     (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131123/654546-a )

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131124/654574-a )

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131124/654574-b )

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131124/654574-c )

The new-look kit is a part of the strategic sponsorship that the Copa Del Rey holders signed with Azerbaijan last year. The official logo of the continent's first ever multi-sport event, to be hosted in the Azeri capital, was launched earlier the same day at the 42^nd European Olympic Committees' (EOC) General Assembly in Rome, Italy.

Globally renowned players including David Villa, Diego Costa and Arda Turan, had the Baku 2015 logo printed across their chests for last night's home match against Getafe CF at the Vicente Calderón Stadium. The team will wear the logo as part of the current deal which has seen Atlético's shirts emblazoned with the words 'Azerbaijan Land of Fire', the country's tourism motto, in order to promote the brand of Azerbaijan all over the world.

Dubbed the 'transformational Games', Baku 2015 will see more than 5,400 athletes from all the 49 Olympic nations of Europe compete in 18 sports, including new formats such as basketball 3x3. Beach soccer will also feature for the first time in a major multi-sport European event. The plans are said to both reflect the ambitions of one of Europe's most dynamic nations and be a blueprint for the future of major sporting and cultural events on the continent. The European Games will themselves run every four years and are owned and regulated by the EOC.

Azerbaijan's Minister of Youth and Sport, Azad Rahimov, said: "For the first time Europe has its own multi-sport event and we want to spread the message to sport fans across the continent. There are few ways of doing so as impactful as on the shirt of a football team, the main identifying element of a club. Our collaboration with Atlético, with its players now wearing the Baku 2015 logo with pride, is built on a shared passion to bring people together in a celebration in sport. That's what these Games - and our desire to host them in Baku - is really about."

Atlético also has European ambitions. One of the best supported clubs in Spain has twice won the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Supercup in the past four seasons and is already classified for the last 16 in the UEFA Champions League.

Conceived by Azerbaijani designer Adam Yunisov, the Baku 2015 logo brings together five elements that have shaped the country's ancient and contemporary culture and traditions. It depicts both the nation's heritage and emergence as a new centre for international sport, tourism and business. The logo launch is the latest in a series of milestones for the Games, which includes the completion of the draft sports programme and competition schedule, together with the finalisation of venues masterplan.  

Notes to the editor:

Images attached

• Image 1, caption: The Baku 2015 logo, unveiled at the 42^nd EOC General Assembly in Rome
• Image 2, caption: Atlético Madrid's new kit, featuring the Baku 2015 logo

Video

AP subscribers can access and download broadcast quality video material of the launch of the Baku 2015 logo via all AP subscriber platforms and global news wire. Non-AP clients and web users can access and download video material at AP's website: http://www.apassignments.com/multimedia-newsroom

About Baku 2015, the first European Games

Baku 2015 will be the first ever European Games and will involve more than 5,400 competitors, from all the 49 Olympic nations of Europe, across 18 sports. The Games are owned, organised, and regulated by the European Olympic Committees (EOC). They were created at the EOC General Assembly on 9^th December 2012 in Rome, Italy, when the overwhelming majority of the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of Europe voted for the creation of the European Games. It was at this General Assembly that the NOCs awarded the inaugural Games, again by overwhelming majority, to the city of Baku, Azerbaijan. For more information visit http://www.baku2015.com

For up-to-the-minute information on the European Games Baku 2015 and regular updates, see:

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/baku2015

YouTube http://www.youtube.com/baku2015

Twitter http://www.twitter.com/BakuGames2015

Google+ https://www.google.com/+Baku2015

About the Baku 2015 logo

Conceived by 35 year-old Azerbaijani Adam Yunisov, the Baku 2015 logo brings together five core elements that have shaped the host country's ancient and contemporary culture and aspirations:

• Carpet: Added to UNESCO's 'Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity' in 2010, Azerbaijani carpet weaving is a family tradition transferred orally and through practice among the country's many carpet-making regions. This element of the logo reflects the importance of cultural heritage, diversity and creative expression, principles intrinsic to the Baku 2015 plans.
• Flame: Azerbaijan is known as the 'Land of Fire'. Baku's modern LED-covered Flame Towers, which display the movement of a fire visible city-wide, and Yanar Dag, a natural gas fire which blazes at dusk, attract tourists from around the world, with visitor figures up three times in the past decade. The element represents Baku's burning ambition to host Europe's first ever European Games.
• Wave: At 28 meters below sea level, Baku is the lowest-lying national capital in the world.  It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea, also known as the world's largest lake. Here Baku Port is the largest sea port, dating back to 1902. Today the capital of Azerbaijan's unique geographic location continues to drive its economic, social and cultural development. This element symbolises the dynamic growth of the city on an east-west axis along the shores of the Caspian Sea, and the new wave concept for a European Games that will shape the future of sport on the continent.
• Simurgh: A benevolent, mythical flying creature, the Simurgh is considered to represent the union between the Earth and the Sky, serving as mediator and messenger between the two. The element symbolises the connection that Azerbaijani people have with the natural environment, along with their warmth and hospitality that will welcome athletes, fans and officials in 2015.
• Pomegranate: Famous in Azerbaijani food and heritage, the pomegranate has long symbolised fertility and abundance. This fifth element of the logo represents the ambition of Baku 2015 to bring together people from across Europe in a celebration of sport and to create a legacy for future generations.