World Fire and Rescue Sport Championships officially open in Baku

The official opening ceremony of the 21st Men's and 12th Women's World Fire and Rescue Sport Championships has been held in Baku, Report informs.

The event, jointly organized by Azerbaijan's Ministry of Emergency Situations and the International Sport Federation of Firefighters and Rescuers, was attended by Azerbaijani Emergency Situations Minister Colonel General Kamaladdin Heydarov, federation President Alexander Chupriyan and Russian Emergency Situations Minister Colonel General Alexander Kurenkov.

Other attendees included Belarusian Emergency Situations Minister Major General of Internal Service Vadim Sinyavsky, Uzbek First Deputy Emergency Situations Minister Colonel Sanjar Zuparov, Kyrgyz Deputy Emergency Situations Minister Colonel Almazbek Asanov, participating teams and delegations, judges, and local and foreign guests.

The ceremony began with a parade featuring members of the federation's main judging panel and teams from Austria, Bulgaria, Belarus, Romania, China, Czechia, Germany, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijani national flag and the federation's flag were brought onto the field, followed by the national anthem of Azerbaijan and the federation's anthem.

Addressing the ceremony, Heydarov said the policies of Azerbaijani President and National Olympic Committee President Ilham Aliyev had made the country a prominent sporting nation internationally.

Federation President Alexander Chupriyan, Director Andrey Kalinin and Chief Judge Alexander Klitonchik thanked Azerbaijan for organizing the championships, praised the facilities and preparations, and wished the participants success.

The championships were then declared open.

The ceremony featured videos showcasing Azerbaijan's history and culture and introducing the championships, alongside performances of national music and dance.

Under the competition schedule, the men's semifinals and final and the women's final in the ladder-climbing event were held after the ceremony.