Athletes from Russia and Belarus WILL be allowed to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics as neutral athletes... but NOT if they 'actively support the war in Ukraine'

Athletes from Russia and Belarus will be allowed to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics as neutrals. 

However, the International Olympics Committee (IOC) confirmed that sportspeople who 'actively support the war in Ukraine' would not be permitted to participate. 

No Belarusian or Russian officials will be allowed to attend. 

The athletes had initially been banned from competing internationally after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. 

They will only be able to compete in individual sports, excluding any team-based ones where they would typically represent their nation. 

The IOC's statement read: 'The protection of the rights of individual athletes to participate in competitions despite the suspension of their National Olympic Committee [NOC] is a well-established practice, respecting human rights, and has been implemented across a number of suspended NOCs during past Olympic Games.'

No flag, colours, or anthem representing Russia or Belarus will be allowed. 

The Russian Olympic Committee was previously suspended by the IOC in 2017 because of the state-sponsored doping scandal, before that ban was lifted after the 2018 Winter Olympics.

They avoided suspension after their full-scale invasion of Ukraine began last year, but the IOC recommended no Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials take part in international competitions.

In March, however, the IOC told sporting federations they should allow athletes from those countries to compete again as neutrals - opening the door for them to take their place at Paris 2024.

That month, a protest against the idea of accommodating neutral athletes was held outside the IOC headquarters in Switzerland. 

Ukraine has threatened to boycott the Olympics if a full ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes is not upheld.

The IOC stated that of 4,600 athletes who have earned their place at the Paris Olympics so far, only eight were Russian and three Belarusian.   

It has been 100 years since the Olympics were hosted in Paris and there is a feeling that it bears greater weight on its shoulders than any other recent host city. 

Four sports not usually on the roster will hold events: sport climbing, skateboarding, surfing, and 'breaking' (break dancing). 

This will be the first Olympics to see the opening ceremony - the key mission statement of a successful Games - take place not in a stadium, but out in the city itself, starting on the River Seine.