Paris 2024 Olympics: Russia & Belarus athletes will not be part of opening ceremony
Russian
and Belarusian athletes will not take part in the opening ceremony at
the 2024 Olympics in Paris, says the International Olympic Committee.
Athletes from both countries were banned following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
However, athletes from Russia and Belarus who qualify for the Games can compete as neutrals.
A decision on them being part of the closing ceremony will be taken at a later date.
The
IOC said they would not be part of the opening ceremony "since they are
individual athletes, but an opportunity will be provided to them to
experience the event".
So
far, there are 12 individual neutral athletes with a Russian passport
and seven individual neutral athletes with a Belarusian passport who
have qualified for Paris 2024, of the 6,000 quota places already
awarded.
For this
summer's Games in Paris, the conditions of their inclusion include
competing without flags, emblems or anthems of their country.
Russia
said on Wednesday it was "outraged" by the International Olympic
Committee's conditions on its athletes, a day after Olympic chiefs
barred their athletes from the opening ceremony.
"We are outraged by the
unprecedented discriminatory conditions imposed by the International
Olympic Committee," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
Meanwhile, the IOC said Russia's plan to host a 'Friendship Games' is "a cynical attempt" by the country "to politicise sport".
The IOC said the plan is a "blatant violation of the Olympic Charter".
The
first Friendship Games were organised by the Soviet Union and eight
other countries after they boycotted the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The IOC added: "The
Russian government has launched a very intensive diplomatic offensive by
having government delegations and ambassadors, as well as ministerial
and other governmental authorities, approaching governments around the
world.
"To make their
purely political motivation even more obvious, they are deliberately
circumventing the sports organisations in their target countries.
"This is a blatant violation of the Olympic Charter and an infringement of the various UN resolutions at the same time.
"It is a cynical attempt by the Russian Federation to politicise sport."
It added the Russian
government is showing "total disrespect for the global anti-doping
standards and the integrity of competitions".
The
IOC also highlighted unnecessary pressures athletes could face if they
are forced to participate in the Friendship Games, stating they could be
at risk of being "exploited as part of a political propaganda
campaign".
Last week, the World Anti-Doping Agency, external (Wada) raised concerns about unsanctioned multi-sports events at its meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Wada
said the Friendship Games will not take place under the protection of
the World Anti-Doping Code, so could compromise the "health and
fairness" of athletes.
