During my first five months working for insidethegames, I have come to learn a lot about the Baku 2015 European Games, turning round more press releases than you can even begin to imagine.

Although it's given me a great insight into what promises to be a memorable first-ever continental Games in Europe, there's nothing quite like going to the host city of a major multi-sport event to witness the preparations first hand.

With a gymnastics test event, the Open Joint Azerbaijan Championship, taking place this week in the capital, it provided the ideal opportunity for me to put a bit more meat on the bones of my knowledge.

As part of the proceedings today, I was invited on a venue tour giving me the opportunity to see, among others, the Heydar Aliyev Arena, named after the former President of Azerbaijan, where judo and wrestling competitions will be held. I also visited the National Stadium where athletics and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and the Baku Aquatics Centre, which will host diving, swimming and synchronised swimming events.

With 100 days to go until the Opening Ceremony on June 12, Baku 2015 certainly appears to be well on track to deliver a hugely successful event.

I was all kitted out on the site of the National Stadium ©ITG



Simon Clegg, chief operating officer of Baku 2015, who I have quoted on countless occasions without actually meeting him until this afternoon, insists he has absolutely no concerns about the facilities being handed over to organisers at the right time ahead of the final preparations, but is refusing to let any complacency set in.

"I think it's important we recognise that Baku 2015 was given just 30 months to deliver this event - not the normal seven years that you would get for an Olympic or a Winter Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, or even any other of the major international events around the world," he said.

"That means that everything was compressed into just 30 months and therefore there is still a significant amount of work that needs to be done over the next 100 days.

"The one thing that I keep saying is 'it doesn't matter how much oil is in the Caspian out in the sea, the one commodity it cannot buy is time', and time has been the biggest challenge in this project and continues to be."

The venue tour also consisted of a visit to the site for the Beach Arena, a temporary construction which will stage beach soccer and beach volleyball, while the spectacular multi-purpose Crystal Hall could also be seen from a distance when travelling between the other stadia.

Originally built for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012, the venue is undergoing an upgrade ahead of Baku 2015, where it will host volleyball, boxing, fencing, karate and taekwondo.

In total, there are 18 venues, five of which are brand new and on schedule to be handed over to Baku 2015 organisers on the designated dates.

The 6,000-capacity Baku Aquatics Centre which will host diving swimming and synchronised swimming is one of five brand new venues being built for the European Games ©ITG




Clegg stressed that even though the National Stadium is nearing completion from a structural point of view, the work doesn't stop there.

"Everyone thinks that you're getting a brand new stadium and that you don't have to do anything with it," he said.

"People don't understand that there is still a significant amount of work that needs to be done to dress the facility and to prepare the venue for the staging of the Games.

"In London [at the Olympic Games] in 2012, they had to dig out a six-story hole in the middle of the ground to accommodate the Opening Ceremony, so even when you get a brand new stadium that is ready to go, there is still quite a lot that you need to do to prepare it for the guests."

The ongoing gymnastics test event is the latest in a long line to have taken place across a number of sports, with more set to follow between now and the start of the Games on June 12.

"There will be lots of rehearsals going on in the stadiums so I'm confident that the testing that we are doing for each of the venues is right and fitting, bearing in mind when the venues were handed over to us," added Clegg.

"The construction of the new National Stadium was conceived and started well before the awarding of the Games to Baku in 2012, so we are where we are - it's not a major concern to me.

"What we've had to do is work around those deadlines where they have not given us the opportunity of a full test event, but in the vast majority of the stadiums and venues we have, there will either be a full test event or a sports event."

The National Stadium where athletics and the Opening and the Closing Ceremonies of the European Games will take place was also part of the tour around Baku ©ITG



Testing or no testing, I have to say that my first trip to Baku has been a real eye-opener and given me a much clearer perspective on the city's potential to stage a European Games for future hosts cities to aspire to.

Amid a time when there is much scepticism about pumping money into major sporting events, Baku has gone against the grain in a bid to ensure a fantastic spectacle.

The National Stadium is set to host the Opening Ceremony in 100 days time and for me it can't come quick enough.

Daniel Etchells is a reporter for insidethegames. To follow him on Twitter click here.