The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is preparing to reveal its stance on Russian athletes participating in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Games, according to reports from RIA News. The decision remains pending and will be disclosed at an appropriate time by IOC officials through the organization’s press channel, as stated to the news agency.
Meanwhile, the IOC Executive Board is slated to convene in Lausanne, Switzerland, for a three-day session from March 19 to 21. The gathering is expected to address a range of governance issues and eligibility rules affecting athletes from various member countries, including those facing sanctions or neutral participation requirements.
On March 6, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) published the rules governing the participation of neutral athletes in the forthcoming Paralympic Games. Under these guidelines, Russian competitors may enter the Paralympic events solely as neutral athletes and only in individual events. They will not participate in the opening or closing ceremonies.
Historically, the IPC has taken disciplinary steps related to Russia’s Paralympic involvement. The Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) was suspended from IPC membership prior to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, with conditional reassignment occurring in 2019. This suspension has continued to influence how Russian para-athletes are represented in subsequent events.
Russian Paralympic athletes have also faced exclusion from the Paralympic Games held in Beijing in 2022 due to ongoing governance and eligibility considerations.
In related regional developments, the Lithuania national team previously indicated it would not schedule a match against Belarus in the European qualifiers, reflecting ongoing tensions and political as well as sport-related sensitivities that can shape international competition timelines and participation decisions.