The Flame first touched down in the Azerbaijani capital on Satko Pier, to where it had travelled by boat from the Oil Rocks production facility in the Caspian Sea, escorted by oil worker Nahid Nuriyev.

Nuriyev then passed the Flame to Aliyev, who led the Torch along the Baku Boulevard.

Aliyev’s wife, Azerbaijan’s First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, then received the Flame from mugham singer Arif Babayev, after which Torchbearers Isfar Sarabskiy, Igbal Hajizade, a gold medal-winning wrestler at last year's Summer Youth Olympic Games, and Firengiz Alizade transported it along Neftchilar Avenue followed by a parade of Azerbaijan’s famous Karabakh horses.  

From there, Torchbearers Namik Abdullayev, Zemfira Meftahaddinova and Omar Eldarov led the Flame to Flag Square and Crystal Hall, while a giant model horse welcomed the final Torchbearer to the iconic Maiden Tower, where it will stay overnight until Thursday (June 11), the day before the European Games Opening Ceremony.

The Flame was initially captured by Aliyev in Baku’s Ateshgah temple on April 26, and has since undertaken a six-week tour of Azerbaijan, involving 750,000 spectators eagerly anticipating the coming together of Europe’s 50 sporting nations in a historic moment for the country and the whole continent.

During that time, it has visited 60 regions of the country prior to its arrival in Baku, passing within one hour of 99 per cent of the country’s population, it is claimed.

“The journey of the Flame has fuelled the imagination of the Azerbaijani public over the past six weeks, and it was wonderful to see Baku take part in the celebrations this evening with the same enthusiasm as people across the country,” said Azad Rahimov, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Youth and Sport and Baku 2015 chief executive.

“Apart from building anticipation ahead of the Opening Ceremony, the journey is a unique chance for this great capital city to be seen in a new light, and I’m sure that in the coming four days we will see the best of Baku.”

Continuing the five-day tour of Baku tomorrow, the Flame will visit nine of the 18 European Games venues stopping off at the BMX Velopark, the Aquatics Centre, the Basketball Arena, the Mountain Bike Velopark, Bilgah Beach, the Heydar Aliyev Arena, the National Gymnastics Arena, the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium as well as the Crystal Hall.

The Flame will be collected each day from the Maiden Tower before the building opens to the public, at approximately 8.30am, and returned after it has closed, at approximately 9.30pm.

For a full programme of the Flame's journey ahead of its arrival at the National Stadium for the Opening Ceremony on Friday (June 12) , click here.


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