While the question of Russian participation in the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris is still not settled, are we going to see something like a “Bi Games” emerge? In any case, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed, on Wednesday May 17, the government to draft proposals for organizing, in 2024 in Russia, what he presents as the BRICS Games (Brazil, Russia, India, China and Africa from South).
These proposals should be drafted and presented by July 1, according to the presidential decree published on the Kremlin’s website, Russian news agency T reports. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin was appointed to oversee the implementation of this presidential decree.
On May 2, during a government meeting with Mr. Putin, Russian sports minister Oleg Matytsin suggested “ to organize the Games of BRICS in our country in 2024, when Russia will chair the BRICS », emphasizing that such an event would be “very relevant, given the prospect of the expansion of the platform of BRICS in terms of new Member States”.
In February, South Africa’s ambador to BRICS, Anil Sooklal, said that Iran and Saudi Arabia are among the countries that have formally applied for membership and that other countries have expressed interest in joining, including Argentina, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Egypt, Bahrain and Indonesia.
This Russian initiative comes as on March 28, despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, the IOC reiterated the recommendation he had made at the end of January to reinstate Russian athletes (and Belarusians) under a neutral banner, provided they did not actively support the war in Ukraine.
The IOC has however left the decision whether or not to apply this recommendation to international sports federations. He has not specified anything, at this stage, regarding the 2024 Games.
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