By Duncan Mackay at The Hilton Hotel in Baku 

A new updated logo for the first European Games has been launched by Baku 2015 ©Baku 2015Baku 2015 has launched a revamped version of its logo for the inaugural European Games to coincide with the One Year To Go celebrations.


The updated Baku 2015 logo, featuring a number subtle changes to ensure that it works better for broadcasting and marketing perspectives, was officially launched in the Azerbaijani capital today.

Officials claim the updated logo glows better on all supports and conveys with greater strength the vision of the first European Games, due to open on June 12 next year and which will be celebrated with a series of special events here tomorrow. 

All European National Olympic Committees will be able to use this logo for non-commercial purposes, such as publications, NOC uniforms, pre-Baku 2015 events and so on, and may pass on the authority to use it to each of their 19 National Sports Federations whose sports are part of the programme.

The Baku 2015 logo appeared on the shirts last season of Spanish football team Atlético Madrid as they won La Liga and reached the final of the European Champions League ©Getty ImagesThe Baku 2015 logo appeared on the shirts last season of Spanish football team Atlético Madrid as they won La Liga and reached the final of the European Champions League
©Getty Images

The logo, launched during the European Olympic Committees General Assembly in Rome last November, had been originally conceived by 35-year-old Azerbaijani Adem Yunisov.

It brings together five core elements that officials claim have shaped the country's ancient and contemporary culture and aspirations.

These include a carpet, flame, wave, pomegranate and simurgh, a mythical flying creature Azerbaijani's believe represent the union between the earth and the sky.

The logo featured regularly, as part of a sponsorship deal with Azerbaijan, on the shirts last season of Spanish side Atlético Madrid as they lifted the La Liga title and reached the final of the European Champions League, where they were beaten by city rivals Real Madrid.