This time next week I’ll be on a flight back to London Heathrow wondering just where the preceding 26 days have gone since having the privilege of becoming the Baku 2015 Media Village’s very first resident.

Inevitably the coming seven days will whizz by just as quickly as the opening five days of sporting action following the spectacular Opening Ceremony at the Olympic Stadium last Friday (June 12).

Speaking of that, I have to say it was a fitting way to start the inaugural edition of the Games and a real coup to get Lady Gaga on board, taking some of the headlines, if only briefly, away from the two words I’ve read and heard more than any during my time here, "human" and "rights".

The build-up to the Games had been stained by reports of human rights abuses in Azerbaijan and reports of members of Amnesty International, as well as a British newspaper journalist being refused entry into the country for the event.

I’m sure I’ll encounter the same two words on countless more occasions, but as has been the case thus far, I can’t envisage it having any impact on the successful running of the Games.

Although certain aspects have been far from perfect, the overall execution of the sports programme has been extremely efficient.  

I certainly had my doubts, especially when waiting for more than an hour longer than expected for the Baku 2015 Flame to reach the iconic Maiden Tower, following its arrival in the city on June 7.

If they couldn't stick to a plan when carrying a Torch around a city where the roads were closed, I seriously questioned how were they going to cope with delivering a multi-sport event across 17 days.

However, having witnessed medal events in wrestling, karate, gymnastics, taekwondo and, today, shooting, everything has generally gone to script.

I ought not to complain too much as I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to cover such a ground breaking event in the history of the European Olympic Movement, but there are definitely a few logistical issues which could be addressed better to make the lives of media representatives easier.

One of the main ones is the placing of the “I-Zones”, an area where journalists can interview competitors after events, in relation to the press areas overlooking the fields of play.

To put it simply, in a lot of cases the distance between the two is far too big, leading to endless frantic dashes so as to not miss out on either front.

Providing televised live coverage of the action within the I-Zones would strike me as a problem solver but unfortunately it doesn’t seem to have hit home at all the venues. 

Anyway, less of the journalistic problems.

One particular story that puts minor issues like that firmly into the shade is that of the three Austrian synchronised swimming team members who were struck by a bus in the Athletes’ Village the day before the Opening Ceremony.

It’s one that shocked all those close to the Games, with the footage of the incident circulating on the Internet making for extremely distressing viewing.

Such was the ferocity of the collision, I was not surprised to hear large gasps from other media representatives as they watched it. 

Fortunately Vanessa Sahinovic, who suffered the most serious injuries, has been confirmed as being in a stable condition having been put into a medically induced coma.

Both she and Luna Pajer were taken to the University Hospital of Baku after the incident before the decision was taken to immediately fly the two athletes back to Vienna, along with team physician Dr. Robert Kandelhart.

Remarkably, Verena Breit, who was the other athlete injured, went on to compete in synchronised swimming having been treated for a thigh contusion.

It was a sensational act of courage and no matter what happens between now and June 28, it will go down as one of the Games’ most memorable moments, stemming from one of its saddest.

Another aspect of the Games that will live long in the memory is the participation of Armenia, whose athletes were booed during the Opening Ceremony, as well as that of Kosovo, a nation competing at their first-ever multi-sport event under their own flag. 

If any questions remained about whether the locals would continue to show strong hostility towards the Armenian athletes, they have definitely been answered.

My first and main experience of it came at the Heydar Aliyev Arena for the opening day's wrestling action on Saturday (June 13).

Armenia's Victor Ciobanu was left in no doubt as to where loyalties lay in his men's under 59 kilograms Greco-Roman bronze medal match against Tarik Belmadani of France, which he lost.

Even Russia's Stepan Maryanyan, the men's 80kg Greco-Roman gold medallist was given the treatment, owing to his Armenian descent. 

Meanwhile, Kosovo's search for a first medal has been and will continue to be an interesting one.

Karate's Alvin Karaqi came as close as any of its delegation to breaking the duck in the men's kumite under 84kg category, but narrowly lost out to Turkey's Ugur Aktas. It's a story waiting to be written. 

All in all it’s been a very eventful few weeks and I’m expecting there will be plenty more to come before the Games are out.

The Baku 2015 Operations Committee has put on a strong show up to this point and will be hoping to see it through until the end.

With ambitions to host the Olympic Games seemingly high on the city’s agenda, it’s essential that the European Games maintain their current form and if they do, who knows where it might lead to?