The Refugee Olympic Team in Bayeux, Normandy where they gathered for a pre-Games training camp before travelling to Paris. © IOC/John Huet
PARIS – At the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, urged the world to follow the example of the refugee teams that are competing, as they promote peaceful co-existence and mutual respect.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is partnering with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee and the Olympic Refuge Foundation to support refugees at the Games in Paris.
Grandi, a Vice-Chair of the Olympic Refuge Foundation, will attend today’s opening ceremony in Paris and participated in the torch relay this morning, representing UNHCR as well as the world’s 120 million forcibly displaced people.
“Sport is a symbol of hope and of peace, which are sadly in short supply in our world today,” Grandi said. “The refugee team is a beacon for people everywhere. These athletes show what can be achieved when talent is recognized and developed, and when people have opportunities to train and compete alongside the best. They are nothing short of an inspiration.”
This week, Grandi became the third recipient of the Olympic Laurel, an IOC award to honour outstanding achievements in education, culture, development and peace through sport. He will accept the award on behalf of UNHCR at the Opening Ceremony today.
Grandi noted that conflicts and emergencies can be found in every corner of the world, forcibly displacing millions of people from their homes in countries from Sudan to Ukraine, the State of Palestine, Myanmar and beyond. Grandi joined UN Secretary General António Guterres in calling for full global respect of the Olympic Truce, a custom of halting all hostilities from before to after the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The UN General Assembly adopted the truce for Paris in November.
“Sport is also vital for millions of refugees, of all ages and abilities,” Grandi added. “It brings people together, benefits mental and physical health, gives children positive role models, and teaches valuable life lessons. Our partnership with the IOC is cherished and valuable, and I look forward to seeing it grow.”
At the Paris 2024 Games, 37 brave refugee athletes will participate, the largest team to compete since the inception of IOC refugee teams at the Rio Games in 2016.
Who are you supporting at the Olympic Games this summer? © HCR
Media contacts:
- In Paris: Paula Barrachina Esteban, barrachi@unhcr.org, +33 6 23 16 11 78
- In Geneva: Mel Paramasivan, paramasi@unhcr.org, +41 79 526 59 48
Notes to editors
The Refugee Olympic Team (l’Équipe Olympique des Réfugiés, EOR) is made up of 37 athletes, hosted by 15 National Olympic Committees: Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. They will be competing in 12 sports: athletics, badminton, boxing, breaking, canoeing, cycling, judo, shooting, swimming, taekwondo, weightlifting and wrestling. The team is led by Cheffe de Mission Masomah Ali Zada, who was a member of the Refugee Olympic Team in Tokyo and is a UNHCR High Profile Supporter. EOR flagbearers for the Opening Ceremony are Cindy Ngamba (boxing, based in UK) and Yahya Al Ghotany, (taekwondo, based in Jordan). The first Refugee Olympic team comprised 10 athletes and competed at the Rio 2016 Games. For Tokyo, the team was 29 strong despite the restrictions of COVID.
The composition of the Refugee Olympic Team was based on a number of criteria – primarily sporting performance. Almost all athletes are selected from the International Olympic Committee’s refugee athlete scholarship programme. The IOC works with host National Olympic Committees to identify refugee athletes living in their countries who may be eligible for scholarship support. Scholarships are designed to help refugee athletes train, not just with the aim of making the Olympics, but also to develop their sporting careers and build their futures. The team is chosen by the IOC, while the scholarships and the team are managed by the Olympic Refuge Foundation (ORF), which was established by the IOC to provide constant support to refugees through sport. Team members’ refugee status is verified by UNHCR, which checks that status with the host country’s government. UNHCR has no role in determining the athletes’ refugee status, nor with the selection of the athletes for either the scholarship programme or the team. Beyond that, the team represents the global population of displaced people. Consideration has been given to a balanced representation of sport and gender, as well as the geographical spread of countries of origin.
UNHCR believes in the power of sport to transform the lives of people forced to flee. It is much more than a leisure activity. It gives refugees the chance to heal, develop and grow. UNHCR partners with a range of local, national and international organizations to increase access to sport- and play-based activities for refugees. We work with sport, government, private sector, humanitarian, civil society and other partners across the world to make sure refugees can benefit from sport.
Since 2014, UNHCR has been building strategic partnerships with sport organizations to help change the lives of refugees and other displaced people. The establishment of the Olympic Refuge Foundation by UNHCR and the IOC in 2017 strengthened this partnership, bringing more dedicated sport initiatives to communities forced to flee. UNHCR also develops partnerships with the wider sporting world. Grassroots organizations, professional clubs, federations and associations, sport businesses, sponsors and individual sportspeople all have a role to play in increasing access to facilities, developing grounds and pitches, contributing equipment, organizing activities, training young refugees and using their voices to advocate for refugees. UNHCR launched its first global sport strategy, “More than a Game”, in 2022, which outlines the organization’s belief in the power of sport and engagement with the sector to benefit displaced and stateless people. UNHCR’s sport initiatives are implemented in refugee camps, settlements and urban settings around the world, in countries such as Bangladesh, Chad, Colombia, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Mexico, Rwanda, the DRC and Uganda, to name a few.
