European Games goes gaga

BAKU, Azerbaijan: The first European Games opened in Azerbaijan on Friday with an extravagant opening ceremony featuring Lady Gaga, although even her star power failed to dispel some of the concerns hanging over the event.
The games in the oil-rich nation’s capital Baku have become a focal point for criticism Azerbaijan’s human rights record, and worries over the competition’s sporting credibility.
They were opened by the country’s President Ilham Aliyev, who has held power since 2003 and whose regime has been accused of jailing political dissidents on trumped-up charges.
The ceremony featured all the pomp of an Olympic opening as Aliyev entered with a flaming torch at the start of an eclectic show combining Greek myth, a giant floating pomegranate and a video message from physicists at the Switzerland-based CERN research center.
“This spectacular celebration is the victory of independent Azerbaijan and each Azerbaijani citizen,” said Aliyev’s wife Mehriban Aliyeva, who heads the organizing committee for the games.
Lady Gaga’s performance was kept a secret until part-way through the ceremony, with the American singer performing John Lennon’s song “Imagine” while playing a piano covered in flowers. The singer, who wore a simple white smock as opposed to one of her signature eccentric outfits, was given a rapturous reception for her performance, which included an unusually full-throated rendition of the final verse of Lennon’s low-key classic.
“I’m extremely honored to be playing at the opening ceremony in Baku, and to be celebrating all of the amazing athletes who will compete in the European Games in this beautiful city,” she said in comments released by organizers.