The Great Silk Way Elite Boxing Tournament, which will take place at the Crystal Hall, a venue famous for staging the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, is set to feature 90 competitors from 14 countries.

A capacity of 4,000 spectators are expected to watch the boxers during the event, which runs from tomorrow until Sunday (April 19) and is organised by the Azerbaijan Boxing Federation in cooperation with Baku 2015, and includes 10 weight categories for men and five for women.

The Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation Cup, meanwhile, incorporates both freestyle and Greco-Roman disciplines and will attract 400 athletes across four days of competition, starting on Thursday (April 16). 

It will be staged in the recently-renovated Heydar Aliyev Arena and both give Baku 2015 the opportunity to assess the facilities and the logistics as they prepare to host the first-ever European Games.

These two events come after the Open Joint Azerbaijan Championship in Gymnastics were held in Baku back in March, which exhibited the innovative format the sport will take during Europe’s maiden multi-sport competition this Summer.

“Boxing and wrestling are mainstays of the Olympic sporting programme, so they are a great way for us to ensure our readiness for the elite-level competitions to come.”

Both events are also set to ramp up enthusiasm among the Azerbaijani public for the European Games themselves, and Baku 2015 director of operational capability and readiness Gavin McAlpine believes the Great Silk Way Elite Boxing Tournament and the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation Cup will both provide hugely beneficial preparation.

“The Baku Prepares test events are the perfect opportunity to fine-tune our preparations and hone our staff’s operational readiness to deliver the first European Games,” he said.

“They also serve to heighten anticipation amongst the public in Azerbaijan and across Europe.”