Azerbaijan’s host site for the Euro 2020 football cup was built for an Olympic Games that never was. Now it’s preparing for the biggest event it’s hosted so far.
When it comes to energy consumption, a stadium’s age and location can make a big difference.
Baku’s 225,000-square-metre Olympic Stadium, which will be one of the host sites for this year’s Euro 2020 football tournament, was built just six years ago, ahead of the 2015 European Games. Its name was meant to give Azerbaijan a leg up in its bid to host the 2020 summer Olympics, though the government is probably quite relieved now that they eventually didn’t win that bid.
Wembley is one of the older arenas hosting Euro 2020 matches. Can a legacy venue reduce its environmental impact as well as a newer one?
When it comes to legacy stadiums, it doesn’t get more storied than London’s Wembley Arena. Opened as the Empire Pool in 1934 for the British Empire Games, 90 years later it is perhaps the UK’s most famous venue for sports and concerts. In the late 70s it was granted protected status and renamed Wembley, the area of London where it’s located.
The down side of that legendary status, of course, is that the building isn’t as energy efficient as newer stadiums. Nevertheless, the arena has made big strides in improving its environmental performance. In 2019 it was awarded the ISO 20121 certificate, the highest international standard of sustainability in events, and was recertified in 2020.
May 23, 2021 Share
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the governing body of European football, gives due emphasis to its social responsibilities and works extensively in areas related to social inclusion of disadvantaged groups, including refugees. Thus, the social inclusion of refugees is a priority in UEFA’s work that is directed off the football field. As part of this commitment, UEFA has signed a Cooperation Protocol with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The agreement was signed by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, and UEFA’s Football and Social Responsibility Director, Michele Uva, at the UNHCR’s headquarters in Geneva
UEFA and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) establish Cooperation Protocol Friday 21 May 2021
Article summary
UEFA and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, have this week signed a Cooperation Protocol to support refugee access to sport and enhance social inclusion.
Article top media content UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi (L), UEFA’s football and social responsibility director, Michele Uva (R) @UNHCR
Article body
The Protocol commits the two organisations to establish long-term initiatives to support refugees and forcibly displaced people by harnessing the transformative power of football to assist and uphold their rights and strengthen their integration in their host communities.
L UEFA et le HCR s associent en soutien aux réfugiés - World reliefweb.int - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reliefweb.int Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.