Rio 2016 Olympics: Refugees eligible to compete in Olympics for 1st time
Highly qualified athletes who are refugees will be allowed to compete in the Olympic Games for the first time, International Olympic Committee president made the announcement at the United Nations General Assembly. "This will be a symbol of hope for all the refugees in our world and will make the world better aware of the magnitude of this crisis," Thomas Bach said amid a continuing refugee crisis. "Having no national team to belong to, having no flag to march behind, having no national anthem to be played, these refugee athletes will be welcomed to the Olympic games with the Olympic flag and with the Olympic anthem," he said. Prior to the 2016 games, qualified refugee athletes were not able to participate in the Olympics because they had no home country to represent, Bach said. But amid a growing crisis, with some 20 million refugees worldwide, the International Olympic Committee decided to welcome refugee athletes. They will compete under the Olympic flag and live in the Olympic Village alongside 11,000 athletes from 206 countries.
