Controversy lingers as European Games begin

The party was put in sharp perspective after 15-year-old synchronized swimmer Vanessa Sahinovic was left with serious spinal injuries.

Lady Gaga starred as the inaugural European Games were declared open in Baku’s Olympic Stadium on Friday night but the celebratory atmosphere could not disguise a prevailing sense of tragedy and controversy.

A crowd in excess of 60,000 watched the American musician sing a version of John Lennon’s “Imagine” after athletes from most of the 50 competing nations had paraded around its perimeter.