President Ilham Aliyev reviews preparations for WUF13 at Baku Olympic Stadium VIDEO
Baku, May 12, AZERTAC
On May 12, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev visited the Baku Olympic Stadium to review the preparations for the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13). The forum, themed "Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and communities," is scheduled to take place from May 17 to 22.
Anar Guliyev, Chairman of the State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture, and Adil Mammadov, Executive Director of the WUF13 Azerbaijan Operating Company, briefed the President on the progress of the work.
The event venue encompasses a total operational area of 53 hectares at the Baku Olympic Stadium and its surroundings. Of this, 43 hectares serve as the primary event site, while 10 hectares are designated as the main transport terminal and parking-transfer zone. The site is organized into a unified operational system covering registration, session halls, exhibitions, media facilities, transport, technical support, volunteer hubs, and venue services.
Special zones have been allocated for high-level guests and delegations, featuring dedicated spaces for the reception of heads of state and government, bilateral meetings, lounge areas, and catering services.
The main hall for the opening and closing ceremonies has a capacity of up to 6,000 participants. The current level of preparedness allows for the efficient management of high participant traffic, numerous parallel events, and the reception of international delegations.
The primary discussion and side-event zone covers 3.55 hectares, housing conference rooms for thematic sessions, UN events, and bilateral negotiations. The infrastructure allows for various official and business meetings to be held simultaneously. During the forum, approximately 300 parallel sessions, meetings, and events are planned per day.
Simultaneous translation will be provided in the six official UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish), as well as in Azerbaijani and Turkish. Furthermore, international sign language services will be available for persons with disabilities.
More than 35 catering points have been arranged across the indoor and outdoor sections of the venue to ensure convenient access and balanced participant flow throughout the site.
A 2-hectare zone houses the Media Center, as well as halls for Roundtables, Special Sessions, and Dialogues. The Media Center features workstations, live broadcast and interview rooms, a press conference hall, TV studios, and a media lounge. It has a total capacity of 600 people and can accommodate up to 400 media representatives working simultaneously.
The site includes a recreational zone with a visual and architectural design inspired by Icherisheher and traditional Azerbaijani carpet motifs.
Forum participants will additionally have access to the open-air WUF13 Boulevard, covering 2.5 hectares. Designed as a public urban-style space, it will allow participants to move freely, relax, access catering services. The boulevard also serves as a transition to the "Expo Zone" and functions as a public space.
The Urban Expo Zone covers 3.5 hectares and features exhibition spaces for national pavilions, international organizations, government agencies, local authorities, the private sector, NGOs, foundations, and academic institutions. In total, 121 pavilions have been established, including 41 national pavilions.
The ceremonial components of the forum have been meticulously planned. A dedicated flag square has been prepared for official ceremonies and designed with fortress-wall motifs intended to evoke the atmosphere of a historic city environment.
An additional 10-hectare zone for transport terminals and parking-transfer functions has been integrated into the operational area. This zone will manage bus and taxi services, parking, and participant orientation. The city’s transport interchange centers, electric buses, and airport transfers are fully integrated into the event’s general transportation plan.
The registration area can serve up to 70 people simultaneously and process approximately 1,000 participants per hour. Separate accreditation and registration desks have been set up for persons with disabilities. Registration operations have been developed by the Azerbaijani operational team in line with the forum’s requirements and adapted for phased participant management.
To meet the digital needs of the event, primary and backup data centers, large-scale fiber-optic networks, wireless network equipment, and a 24/7 operations center have been established to ensure uninterrupted internet, broadcasting, and digital operations.
WUF13, jointly organized by UN-Habitat and the Government of Azerbaijan, is expected to once again place Azerbaijan at the center of global attention. To date, 32,225 participants from 180 countries have registered for the event, already making it a record figure in the history of WUF. During this prestigious event, Azerbaijan will present its unprecedented reconstruction and urban development model in Garabagh and East Zangezur. This includes the "smart city" and "smart village" concepts applied in the liberated territories and the transformation of these regions into "green energy zones" – serving as leading global examples of modern urbanization and ecological restoration. Notably, WUF13 marks the first time in the history of the World Urban Forum that a Leaders' Summit segment has been included in the program.
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