The International Olympic Committee announced on Tuesday that athletes from Russia and Belarus will not take part in the opening ceremony on the banks of the Seine at the 2024 Paris Olympics as organizers ban countries “responsible for war” in Ukraine. File photo: David Shilpa/UPI
March 19 (UPI) — The International Olympic Committee announced on Tuesday that athletes from Russia and Belarus will not be able to take part in the opening ceremony of this summer's Paris Olympics because organizers have banned countries with “war responsibilities” in Ukraine.
“Sanctions against those responsible for the war, the states and governments of Russia and Belarus will continue at the 2024 Paris Olympics,” the IOC said in a statement on Tuesday.
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Athletes from Russia and Belarus will be allowed to compete in individual competitions as “Individual Neutral Athletes” (or “AIN”) teams, but will be prohibited from using their national flags or national anthems.
“As AIN is an individual athlete, he will not participate in the delegation (team) parade during the opening ceremony,” the IOC said in a statement.
The opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Games will take place on Friday, July 26th, with a boat parade on the Seine. A decision has not yet been made as to whether AIN will be able to participate in the closing ceremony.
“A decision regarding AIN's participation in the Closing Ceremony will be taken at a later stage, taking into account that it will be jointly all athletes, not teams, who will participate in the Closing Ceremony,” the IOC said.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and the Belarusian military played a key role in supporting the war.
So far, 12 individual athletes with Russian passports and seven individuals with Belarusian passports have qualified for the Paris Games.
The IOC also reaffirmed its stance on Tuesday against the politicization of sport, citing fundamental principles of the Olympic Charter that Russia says have been violated.
The Olympic Charter states, “Recognizing that sport takes place within the framework of society, sports organizations within the Olympic Movement shall apply political neutrality.''
The charter states: “The IOC's mission is to promote Olympism and lead the Olympic movement around the world.The IOC's role is to oppose political and commercial abuse of sport and athletes.'' .
The IOC also criticized Russia for hosting its own Games, scheduled for later this year.
“The Russian government intends to hold a purely politically motivated sporting event in the Russian language,” the group said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Apparently, the first Summer Friendship Games will be held in Moscow and Yekaterinburg, Russia in September 2024, and the Winter Friendship Games will be held in Sochi, Russia in 2026.”
“To make their purely political motives even more obvious, they are deliberately circumventing the sporting bodies of the target countries,” the IOC said. “This is a clear violation of the Olympic Charter, as well as a violation of various United Nations resolutions.”
