Olympic Games chiefs target Paris 2024 as chance to highlight peace and unity

Olympic Games supremos have claimed the next event in Paris in 2024 will offer the world an opportunity to encourage geo-political unity and reconstruction. 

Ukraine as well as several other countries have threatened to boycott the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris if fighting continues in Ukraine and Russian as well as Belarusian athletes are allowed to feature in the French capital. © Michel Euler / AP

The message of emollience emerged as bosses at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) – which has overall control for the quadrennial event – began to mark the year anniversary of Vladimir Putin's decision to send Russian military forces into Ukraine via Belarus.

IOC chiefs reacted to Putin's move by recommending that international sports exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from their competitions.

But the IOC president, Thomas Bach, has since said that was only a measure intended to “protect” those athletes.

The IOC argues Russian and Belarusian athletes should not be discriminated against because of the passports they hold and ought to be allowed to participate under a neutral flag.

“During the Olympic Games athletes from 206 different national Olympic committees live together in peace in the Olympic Village,” an IOC statement said.

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“Peace-building efforts need dialogue. A competition with athletes who respect the Olympic Charter can serve as a catalyst for dialogue, which is always a first step to achieving peace.

“The Olympic Games cannot prevent wars and conflicts. Nor can they address all the political and social challenges in our world. This is the realm of politics. But the Olympic Games can set an example for a world where everyone respects the same rules and one another," the statement added.

“They can inspire us to solve problems by building bridges, leading to better understanding among people. They can open the door to dialogue and peace-building in ways that exclusion and division do not.”

A group of more than 30 nations – including the 2024 hosts France – issued a collective statement on Monday calling for the ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes to continue.

The group includes Latvia, which has threatened to boycott the Paris Games if fighting continues and Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to compete.

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“In Russia and Belarus, sport and politics are closely intertwined," said the joint statement.

"We have strong concerns on how feasible it is for Russian and Belarusian Olympic athletes to compete as ‘neutrals’ – under the IOC’s conditions of no identification with their country – when they are directly funded and supported by their states [unlike, say, professional tennis players].

“The strong links and affiliations between Russian athletes and the Russian military are also of clear concern. Our collective approach throughout has therefore never been one of discrimination simply on the basis of nationality, but these strong concerns need to be dealt with by the IOC.”

The Paris Olympics is scheduled to start on 26 July, 2024 and will last until 11 August.