Nurullayeva was previously head of the International Relations department of the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan and will work under Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Yagub Eyubov, who has been appointed by President Ilham Aliyev as head of the bid. 

She also heads the International Relations department of the Azerbaijan Athletic Federation and is general secretary of several national bodies, including bobsleigh and skeleton and skiing. 

Nurullayeva was the first-ever woman Chef de Mission of the Azerbaijani delegation at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

She is a member of the coordination group of the International Inspiration Programme, which is now an official component of the London 2012 International Education Programme, led by UK Sport with the British Council and UNICEF.

In addition, she is on the Sport Development Committee of the Islamic Woman and Sport Federation, the Executive Committee of Azerbaijan Athletic Federation and the Azerbaijani delegation for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games.

Nurullayeva is a graduate of Azerbaijan University of Languages and fluent in English, French and Russian. 

"I am incredibly proud and excited to be appointed CEO of my country's bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Baku in 2020," she said.

"We want to bring the joys and passions of the world's greatest sporting event to the Caucasus for the first time, so enabling this vibrant, open and enthusiastic region to realise its true sporting potential.

"We view hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Baku as an opportunity to showcase all the finest aspects of our country, our culture and indeed our entire region.

"It is part of our vision to turn Baku into the 'city of the future' – a gift to the next generation and a source of pride for our country."

Azad Rahimov (pictured), Azerbaijan's Minister for Youth and Sport, is confident that Nurullayeva can help Baku compete against Doha, Istanbul, Madrid, Rome and Tokyo, its rivals for the 2020 Olympics.

 "We are delighted to appoint Konul as CEO of our bid," he said.

"She is young, dynamic, deeply involved in our national sports and, above all, a great example and inspiration to the young people of Azerbaijan, many of whom we hope will be competing in the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"We believe that hosting the 2020 Games in Baku would extend the Olympic ideals to millions of new hearts and minds.

"With Konul leading the way, we believe that this bid will engage and inspire the young people of the region, so that they better understand the world around them – and young people around the world gain a true picture of Azerbaijan's culture and warm hospitality."

Nurullayeva will have an early opportunity to promote Baku's candidature as each of the six bidders have been invited here to attend the 40th European Olympic Committees Assembly, an event due to be attended by International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge.  

Nurullayeva's appointment coincides with the announcement that international agencies - pmplegacy, Burson-Marsteller and Adore Creative - have been engaged to help Baku's bid. 

pmplegacy, part of the London-based Chime Sports Marketing division (CSM) of Chime Communications and who most recently worked on Hambantota's unsuccessful bid to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games, will  be lead strategic and technical advisors to the bid, responsible for brand positioning, narrative and messaging; the development of the Applicant and Candidature Files and assisting the Baku 2020 team with its interaction with and presentations to the Olympic Movement.

Burson-Marsteller, a leading public relations and communications firm with a worldwide network of offices in 96 countries across six continents and who did some work on Qatar's controversial bid to host the 2020 FIFA World Cup, will provide strategic communications counsel, as well as media relations and public relations services to the Baku Bid team.

Adore Creative, the international advertising and creative services agency involved in both the 2014 Winter Olympics and 2018 World Cup campaigns for Russia, will be responsible for producing the bid films, new media and advertising campaign. 

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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