Employing Elphinston is a coup of Baku because of his extensive Olympic experience. 

He worked as general manager during Sydney's successful bid for the 2000 Olympics and Paralympics and then as general manager for sport on the Organising Committee, being responsible for overseeing all 28 sports. 

Elphinston has since served on the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Evaluation Commission for the 2008 and 2012 Games, which were awarded to Beijing and London respectively. 

He will be working alongside pmplegacy, Burson-Marsteller and Adore Creative who have also been engaged to help Baku's bid, which faces opposition from Doha, Istanbul, Madrid, Rome and Tokyo.

"I am confident that, with their enormous experience and expertise, together we can develop an extremely high-quality bid," said Konul Nurullayeva (pictured above with Elphinston), the chief executive of Baku 2020.

"In Baku, we are investing billions of dollars to build a world-class sporting infrastructure.

"Thanks to our strong and stable economy, in the past three years, we have already started construction on a new Olympic Stadium, as well as an Olympic complex – and several new sports arenas are under also construction irrespective of our bid.

"The Olympic Family can be confident that we will deliver what we promise in our bid."

Elphinston is confident that he  can at least help Baku achieve its first aim and get onto the shortlist, which is due to be announced by the IOC Executive Committee next May.

"I have been taken by surprise by the beauty and vibrancy of Baku: the city is one of the world's best-kept secrets and ripe for discovery," said Elphinston, whose four-year term as FIBA President ended last year.

"I think that together we can put together an extremely credible bid for Baku.

"Azerbaijan has a very young population – more than 50 per cent are under the age of 30.

"Hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Baku in 2020 has the potential to extend the Olympic ideals to millions of new hearts and minds." 

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
December 2011: Baku hoping new logo will be magic carpet to 2020 Olympics
November 2011: Baku 2020 appoints chief executive and international agencies
September 2011: Baku are outsiders in the race for 2020 Olympics but you should never totally discount power of money
September 2011: Exclusive - Hosting 2020 Olympics in Baku would help Azerbaijan continue to develop as an independent country, says top official
September 2011: Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister to head Baku 2020 Olympic bid