Refugee Athletes and the 2024 Olympic Games – Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District

The 2024 Olympic Games will be held in Paris from Friday, 26 July 2024 – Sunday, 11 Aug 2024. the International Olympic Committee through its Olympic Solidarity programme dedicated to refugee athletes, has started awarding scholarships. The process is being managed by the Olympic Refuge Foundation. To date, 73 Refugee Athletes Scholarship-holders are being supported and training hard in order to be selected for the Olympic Games in Paris. They are from 12 countries and live in 24 host countries. They represent 14 sports.

Sport has the power to change the lives of displaced young people. Helping them find connections, learn new skills and find their place in the world.

The Olympic Refuge Foundation tells there are many inspiring organisations using sport to benefit refugees and we believe there is a huge opportunity to transform the futures of these young people, if we collaborate and learn from each other to collectively advance this work – with support from donors and funding partners. Together, we can achieve much more.

Origins

In an endeavour to raise awareness of the magnitude of the refugee crisis, the International Olympic Committee created the first Refugee Olympic Team for the Olympic Games Rio 2016. In Tokyo 2020, the team inspired the world with the strength of their human spirit for the second time. For Paris 2024, the IOC Refugee Olympic Team will continue to send a message of hope to the 82 million forcibly displaced people in the world.

The IOC Refugee Olympic Team Paris 2024 is currently in the making

In Paris, athletes will compete as part of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team for the third time at the Summer Games, and will enter the stadium carrying the Olympic flag in second position, immediately after Greece. The composition of this third IOC Refugee Olympic Team will be announced on 1 May 2024.

The IOC, through its Olympic Solidarity programme dedicated to refugee athletes, has started awarding scholarships. The process is being managed by the Olympic Refuge Foundation. To date, 73 Refugee Athletes Scholarship-holders are being supported and training hard in order to be selected for the Olympic Games in Paris. They are from 12 countries and live in 24 host countries. They represent 14 sports.

	The Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District acknowledges the Yorta Yorta People of the land which comprises the Goulburn Valley. We pay respect to tribal Elders, past, present and emerging and we celebrate their continuing culture and acknowledge the memory of their ancestors.
	The Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District is a peak body whose mission is to promote and represent the social, cultural and economic well-being of ethnic communities in the Goulburn Valley Region through the provision of quality and innovative settlement, refugee support, community development, and information and advocacy services.