Simon Clegg - chief operating officer of the Baku European Games Operations Committee - has said that attendance for the first full day of the games has been "amazing".
Over 17,000 fans watched Saturday's events in Baku, which included the mountain bike events, women's triathlon and karate, resulting in seven medals for the host nation.
Clegg said at a press conference: "We had 17,044 spectators attend 19 sessions at seven different venues and we secured really good levels of spectator attendance, particularly at the Mountain Bike Velopark, where we had 98% attendance. We had 91% attendance at the Baku Sports Hall, which is amazing when you consider that both badminton and table tennis have very low levels of awareness in this country, and 90% at the Baku Aquatics Centre.
"Ticket sales have generally gone extremely well. I recognise that some sports are more popular and some are less popular here in Azerbaijan. If you go to the wrestling venue you will see it is very difficult to get a ticket there.
"In terms of revenue, as of 10 days ago we sold over two million manat (£1.2m) worth of tickets. We need to recognise that in this country there is not a prolonged history and track record of people buying or paying for tickets for sports events. This is a bit of a cultural education here and that is why our ticket policy is at a level that makes it available to as many members of the public as possible."
Clegg also revealed that the closing ceremony is expected to sell out in the next 48 hours.
Sian Cowper
