Azerbaijan tipped to bid for Olympics

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) The head of the European Olympic Committees says he expects Azerbaijan's capital Baku to bid for the Olympics after hosting this month's European Games.

Officially, the Azerbaijani government says it is waiting to analyse its hosting of the European Games, which close Sunday, before making a decision on an Olympic bid.

However, EOC head Patrick Hickey tells The Associated Press that he expects Azerbaijani officials to ''announce very shortly that they will be a bidder for the future.''

Bidders for the 2024 Olympics have until Sept. 15 to apply.

Azerbaijan bid for the 2016 and 2020 Olympics but was eliminated before the final vote on each occasion.