This was where the flag handover ceremony took place between the organisers of the 2025 world championships and the organisers of the next edition of the event.
Thus the 2026 world championships, in their individual and mixed team formats, will take place from 9th to 16th July 2026, in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku.
Dr Laszlo Toth, President of the Hungarian Judo Association, handed the IJF flag to Dr Lisa Allan, IJF Secretary General, who in turn passed it to Elnur Mammadli, Olympic champion in Beijing in 2008 and now Vice President of the Azerbaijan Judo Federation.
At the end of the ceremony, there was a little taste of what we can expect in Azerbaijan, knowing that the country has a long history of organising international events, including the world championships back in 2018.