President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and his wife, chairperson of the Baku 2015 First European Games Organizing Committee Mehriban Aliyeva have attended the opening of the Aquatic Palace in Baku.

The head of state cut the ribbon symbolizing the inauguration of the Aquatic Palace.

President Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mehriban Aliyeva reviewed the conditions created here.

With the aim of developing water sports in Azerbaijan and organizing competitions of local and international level, on 30 August 2012 President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on the construction of an Aquatic Palace meeting modern standards in Baku. The foundation stone for the Palace was laid with the participation of the head of state on April, 2013.

Youth and Sports Minister Azad Rahimov informed President Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mehriban Aliyeva about the work carried out here.

The Aquatic Palace occupies a total area of 6 hectares. The sports facility covering an area of 72,000 square meters is fully compliant with the requirements of the International Swimming Federation.

Then, President Ilham Aliyev was informed about the interior of the Aquatic Palace in Baku.

It has three swimming pools. The head of state viewed the main pool, where the competitions will be held. The pool, 50 meters in length, 25 meters in width, and 2.5 meters in depth, was designed for competitions.

The length of the pool for diving is 25 meters and the width is 20 meters. The pools were constructed by Italian Myrtha Pools company.

Sports competitions in the palace can be watched by 6,000 spectators. The palace also has sectors for the disabled, VVIP, VIP section and for journalists.

Then President Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mehriban Aliyeva viewed a 150-seat restaurant of the Palace.

The second pool was built for training. The length of the pool is 51 meters and the width is 20 meters.

Baku was awarded the Games by the European Olympic Committees (EOC) in December 2012. The Baku European Games Operations Committee (BEGOC) will organize and run the Games in co-operation with the EOC.

There will be a total of 20 sports at Baku 2015: 16 Olympic sports and four non-Olympic sports. More than 6,000 athletes from across Europe will be representing their nations over 17 days of competition.