If there is an inaugural European Games in 2015, it is because Azerbaijan’s leaders had the means and the agenda to stage the event. But it is also because Patrick Hickey had the idea and the agenda. The Games, which start Friday and run through June 28 in Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, have been Hickey’s pet project for years. An Irishman from Dublin, Hickey, 69, attended his first Olympics in 1984 in Los Angeles, as team manager for the Irish judo squad. He later became secretary general of the European Olympic Committees and has been president since 2006. He is also a member of the International Olympic Committee’s powerful executive board.
From Pet Project to Reality, the Man Behind Europe’s Games
