Ganja, March 5, AZERTAC The solemn opening ceremony of the “Ganja – 2019 European City of Sport” project has been held at the Heydar Aliyev Park Complex in the city of Ganja. The opening ceremony was attended by officials of the European Capitals and Cities of Sport Federation (ACES Europe), representatives of the Georgian Batumi City Hall, Azerbaijan`s Minister of Youth and Sports Azad Rahimov, head of the Ganja City Executive Authority Niyazi Bayramov, Vice-president of the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan Chingiz Huseynzade, famous athletes of the country, as well as local and foreign guests.The ceremony started in front of the Heydar Aliyev Center. The event featured the exemplary performances of athletes from Ganja. Then a “Karvan” film highlighting the centuries-old history, modern development and sports achievements of the city was screened.A group of artists invited from Baku as well as from the city of Ganja performed a concert.Ganja city was named as the 2019 European City of Sport on May 16, 2018. The European Parliament hosted an official award ceremony for the title Sports Capital of Europe and Sports City of Europe with the organizational support of the Federation of Sports Cities and Capitals of Europe ("ACES Europe") in Brussels, Belgium. The ceremony was attended by an Azerbaijani delegation led by head of the Ganja City Executive Authority Niyazi Bayramov, who received the official flag confirming the title of the European City of Sport. Ganja has won the title of European City of Sport for the first time among the CIS countries.