Learn more about the history of the Refugee Olympic Team, participating for the third time in the Olympic Games. A team that demonstrates the strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity, reminding us that sport can transcend borders, fostering understanding among diverse cultures.
The opening ceremony at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris saw thousands of proud and determined athletes from over 200 countries celebrate the last stage in their journey to compete in the games. Floating up the River Seine to the cheers of almost 400,000 people lining the riverbanks must have been triumphant. However, for one team, the 2024 Refugee Olympic Team, it may have resonated with memories of a different journey: their journey and that of almost 120 million forcibly displaced people worldwide to a place of refuge and safety.
Thirty-seven athletes from 11 countries represent the Refugee Olympic Team, competing across 12 sports. The team is competing under the acronym EOR, based on the French name Équipe Olympique des Réfugiés. Through TogetherintheUK’s work with refugees and a recurring theme in our anthology on migrant writing, Hear Our Story, having a sense of identity is crucial when displaced. So this year, for the first time, the refugee Olympic team will compete under their own emblem. The emblem’s design is of a heart surrounded by various coloured arrows to represent a sense of belonging for the 100+ million people who all share the story of displacement. At the Opening Ceremony they flew the Olympic Flag.
As a result of the global refugee crisis in 2015, the International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach announced the creation of the Refugee Olympic team during the United Nations General Assembly meeting. The 2016 Rio Olympics Games were the first to feature a refugee team. Ten athletes from Syria, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo marched into the Opening Ceremony under the Olympic Flag immediately before the host nation of Brazil. This year, 37 female and male athletes from different home countries who speak different languages unite under one flag to symbolise hope and highlight refugees’ plight worldwide.
Typically, it is a cause of celebration when countries increase the number and diversity of athletes representing them in the games. Tragically, the growth of the refugee team demonstrates the growth of geopolitical turmoil and humanitarian crises. Events that have resulted in an ever-increasing number of displaced people worldwide; the figure of 120 million displaced people have almost doubled since the 2016 Rio Games, a mere eight years ago.
Olympic refugee team members with the number of sports played and countries
Eligibility for participating in the team is based on each athlete’s sporting performance and refugee status as verified by the UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. The UNHRC defines a refugee as someone “who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.”
The Refugee Athletes Scholarship Program provides refugee athletes with financial support for training and competition in the lead-up to the Olympic Games, with the ultimate aim of being selected for the IOC Refugee Olympic Team. Many of the athletes in the 2024 team are supported by this initiative. The Olympic Solidarity Initiative funds the programme (the International Olympic Committee’s global development initiative aimed at supporting the National Olympic Committees around the world, particularly those with the greatest needs) and is managed by the Olympic Refugee Foundation.
The team is so important for the IOC that the refugee athletes appeared in second position at the Paris opening ceremony, after Greece, carrying the Olympic flag.
Jojo Ferris, head of the Olympic Refugee Foundation, told listeners in an episode of the Olympics.com podcast.
These athletes also act as a symbol for the 120 million people who have been forced to flee their homes globally. This team is really about shedding a spotlight on that situation. While the Olympic Games will draw everyone’s attention, we hope [that this team will] reach people’s hearts and minds and challenge the often-negative rhetoric presented by the media about refugees. We really want the team to help people understand the positive contribution refugees make to communities and society.
Meanwhile the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and Vice-Chair of the Olympic Refuge Foundation, 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 telling us.
Sport is a symbol of hope and of peace, which are sadly in short supply in our world today. The refugee team is a beacon for people everywhere. These athletes show what can be achieved when talent is recognised and developed, and when people have opportunities to train and compete alongside the best. They are nothing short of an inspiration.
At the 2024 Paris Olympic Opening Ceremony, Grandi became the third recipient of the Olympic Laurel, an IOC award to honour outstanding achievements in education, culture, development and peace through sport.
There are five UK-based members in the Refugee Olympic Team (EOR): Cindy Ngamba- boxer, Martin Balsini – swimming, Ramiro Mora – weightlifting, Farsad Mansoori – taekwondo, and Dorsa Yavarivafa – badminton. Led by Cheffe de Mission Masomah Ali Zada, a participant of the Refugee Olympic Team in Tokyo and a UNHCR High Profile Supporter, the 37 athletes will compete in 12 sports: athletics, badminton, boxing, breaking, canoeing, cycling, judo, shooting, swimming, taekwondo, weightlifting and wrestling. The EOR flagbearers for the Opening Ceremony were Cindy Ngamba – boxer and Yahya Al Ghotany – taekwondo, based in Jordan.
TogetherintheUK wish all the athletes every success in the games.
Useful sites for more information on the Refugee Olympic Team
Student Refugee Programs – Refugee Athletes Stream
UNHCR – United Nations Refugee Agency
Follow the Refugee Olympic Team
FacebookInstagramX
TogetherintheUK (TGIUK)
For a deeper understanding of migrant lives and their stories in the UK, go to TogetherintheUK.
To immerse yourself in the rich anthology of migrant writing compiled by TogetherintheUK, purchase a copy of Hear Our Stories from Support Us
