Olympic officials announced Tuesday that Russian and Belarusian athletes competing at this summer’s Paris Games under an impartial flag will not participate in the opening ceremony.
Neutral individual athletes (NIAs) from both countries “will not participate in the parade of delegations and groups at the opening ceremony as they are individual athletes,” IOC Director James Macleod said after an assembly of the International Olympic Committee’s executive board in Lausanne. .
“But they will have the opportunity to revel in the event,” Macleod added.
The NWAs will be there, he said, but they will also be among the passengers at the boat parade down the Seine on July 26.
Macleod said the situation mirrored that of the 1992 Barcelona Games for “independent Olympic participants” from the former Yugoslavia.
“The decision regarding the participation of NSAs in the Closing Ceremony will be taken at a later date, taking into account that it is not the groups that participate in the Closing Ceremony, but all the athletes together. “
Athletes from Russia and Belarus had already been barred from attending the opening rite of the Paralympic Games, which begin in Paris on Aug. 28, just over two weeks after the end of the Olympics.
36 Russian NAI
Athletes from Russia and Belarus have been under sanctions on a multitude of sports since Moscow introduced its attack on Ukraine in February 2022.
Over the past year, several Olympic sports have eased their restrictions, allowing athletes from both countries to return to festivals under certain conditions.
Macleod added that there are currently 12 NARI with Russian passports and seven NARI with Belarusian passports who have qualified for Paris 2024, out of the 6,000 participants already for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Lately it is expected that “in the most likely scenario, 36 INIANs with Russian passports and 22 INIANS with Belarusian passports will qualify for the Olympic Games. “
The maximum number, which Macleod says must be reached, would be 55 and 28, respectively.
Some 330 Russian and 104 Belarusian athletes competed at the Tokyo Games, delayed by Covid.
The IOC said the NWA would have its own flag and a wordless anthem. Medals earned through the NWA will be displayed on the overall medal table.
“No flag, anthem, colors or any other identity of Russia or Belarus will be displayed at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on any official online page or at any official function,” the IOC said.
“No Russian, Belarusian or state representative will be invited or accredited for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. “