The opening ceremony of the Figure Skating Grand Prix for Youth has been held in Baku, Azernews reports.

The event, organized at the Heydar Aliyev Sports and Concert Complex, began with the performance of the National Anthem of Azerbaijan.

During the event, the President of the Azerbaijan Winter Sports Federation, Fuad Naghiyev, stated that the number of people involved in figure skating in Azerbaijan has been growing.

Minister of Youth and Sports, Farid Gayibov, highlighted the high level of interest in winter sports in Azerbaijan and officially declared the tournament open.

The ceremony continued with an artistic performance.

Athletes from Azerbaijan, Germany, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, South Korea, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Switzerland, Slovakia, Sweden, Turkiye, the United States, and Uzbekistan are competing in the tournament.

In total, the number of participants (coaches, referees, technical experts, athletes, and ISU officials) in the event is 300.

At the Grand Prix, Azerbaijan is represented in the figure skating single skating event by Sabina Aliyeva,

Leyli Akhundova and Arina Kalugina, while in the ice dance category, Anna Obrayn and Dreyk Tong are representing the country.

MENAFN25092025000195011045ID1110110290