AUG. 27 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan’s government has refused entry to athletes from Nigeria and Sierra Leone for the World Wrestling Championship scheduled to start on Sept. 8 in Tashkent because of fears that they could spread the deadly Ebola virus, media reported.
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(News report from Issue No. 198, published on Sept. 3 2014)
JULY 25 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan confirmed it would host a Formula 1 Grand Prix race in 2016. Hosting an F1 race is a huge PR success for Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev who has been looking for ways to promote the country. Next year, Azerbaijan hosts the inaugural European Games.
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(News report from Issue No. 193, published on July 30 2014)
JULY 6 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan has, arguably, the world’s most experienced football referee. Ravshan Irmatov, 36, made history by taking charge of his ninth World Cup game, a record, at the quarter-final between the Netherlands and Costa Rica. Uzbekistan’s national football team has never qualified for the World Cup finals.
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(News report from Issue No. 193, published on July 30 2014)
JULY 1-6 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan turned itself into an international windsurfing destination for a week when the world’s top racers converged on the Caspian Sea. Like other former Soviet states, Turkmenistan is looking to promote itself. Earlier this year it announced that it had secured a stage of the global windsurfing series.
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(News report from Issue No. 193, published on July 30 2014)
JULY 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Italian cyclist Vincenzo Nibali won the Tour de France, cycling’s greatest prize, for the Kazakhstan- sponsored Team Astana. By winning the Tour de France, Mr Nibali has guaranteed Kazakhstan major publicity. Kazakhstan has now said it wants to host the start of the Tour de France before 2020.
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(News report from Issue No. 193, published on July 30 2014)
JULY 8 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan, or Almaty to be precise, has made it into the final round of three to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.
This in itself is an achievement. The other two finalists have long Olympic pedigree. Beijing hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 2008 and Oslo has already hosted the Winter Games in 1952. In 1994, Lillehammer, in central Norway, also hosted the Winter Olympic Games.
In the last Winter Olympic Games in Sochi earlier this year Norway won 11 gold medals and China won three. Kazakhstan, by comparison, won just one bronze medal in ice skating.
Almaty may be a rank outsider in terms of Olympic pedigree but it is still an attractive option for the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC wants to break into new territories for its Winter Games. The options are slightly limited by the weather and the expensive, exclusive nature of winter sports.
Almaty ticks a good number of boxes. It is keen, can pay for the facilities and has plenty of snow.
Of course there are pitfalls too. Kazakhstan’s human rights record and commitment to democracy is patchy and many of the facilities needed to host the Winter Olympics are unbuilt. Also, with the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, the IOC may decide that having another one so soon in the former Soviet Union is just too much for everybody.
The IOC decides on its 2022 winter venue on July 31 2015. Almaty has just over a year to put together a bid that could finally bring the Olympics to Kazakhstan.
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(News report from Issue No. 192, published on July 9 2014)
May 16 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The International Rugby Board (IRB) has accepted Uzbekistan’s rugby association as a full member, media reported. Rugby is in its infancy in Uzbekistan but the IRB has said that it is committed to spread it across Asia. Neighbouring Kazakhstan is already an IRB member.
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(News report from Issue No. 185, published on May 21 2014)
May 15 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Chronicles of Turkmenistan, a human rights website edited from Europe, reported on the plight of 370 families living in temporary accommodation outside Ashgabat.
According to the website, the authorities moved these families into the accommodation because they wanted to knock down the apartment blocks they lived in and replace them with modern buildings, part of an Olympic Village.
Ashgabat is hosting the Asian indoor and Martial Arts Games in 2017 and has aspirations, however deluded, to hold the Summer Olympic Games.
But, the website said, despite assurances from the authorities that new housing would be built quickly, many families have lived in temporary accommodation for years.
This is not the first time a website has reported on the issue of Ashgabat residents being displaced for centrally planned building projects. In 2011, the eurasianet.org website, reported that 50 residents had protested about the demolition of their houses.
Turkmenistan has grown rich over the past five years through the export of gas to clients such as China. The Guinness Book of Records has conferred the dubious honour on Ashgabat as having the highest density of white-marbled buildings.
The Turkmen officials have to ensure they are spending their energy-generated wealth wisely.
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(News report from Issue No. 185, published on May 21 2014)
MAY 9 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The day after Atletico Madrid beat London-based Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League semi-final Iranian newspaper Jam-e Jam published photos of the victorious team but with Azerbaijan, the team sponsor, edited out of the front of their shirts, BBC reported.
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(News report from Issue No. 184, published on May 14 2014)
APRIL 30 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan will play a prominent role in the UEFA Champions League Final, which has an estimated television audience of 175m. Atletico Madrid beat London side Chelsea in the semi-final to set up a final in Lisbon on May 24 against rivals Real Madrid. Azerbaijan sponsors Atletico Madrid’s shirt.
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(News report from Issue No. 183, published on May 7 2014)