Russian and Belarusian athletes will not participate in the opening parade of the Olympics
Russians and Belarusians will not participate in the athletes’ parade at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Paris this July, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Tuesday.
Athletes from these countries, who have qualified for the Games, will compete as independent athletes, without their country’s flags and anthems, due to Russia’s launch of war in Ukraine in 2022.
They will compete as individual neutral athletes with a special flag and an anthem without lyrics, the committee said.
“They will not participate in the parade of delegations during the opening ceremony as they are individual athletes”, announced the International Olympic Committee, after a meeting of the executive board.
“However, they will be offered the opportunity to experience the event.”
IOC director James McLeod has said they will experience the opening ceremony but will not take part in the team boat parade down the Seine River.
Athletes who support the war, which Moscow considers a “special military operation”, or are contacted by the military and security agencies, will not be allowed to compete.
The IOC has said it expects 36 Russian and 22 Belarusian athletes to compete, compared to Russia’s 330-athlete team at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Belarus fielded a team of 104 athletes in those competitions.
